


Magnolia

by Sid_Gal



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: 18th Century, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst and Drama, Blood and Injury, Character Turned Into Vampire, Depression, F/M, Fake Character Death, Family Fluff, Hinata Hajime and Kamukura Izuru Are Siblings, Homelessness, Human/Vampire Relationship, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Mild Blood, Romantic Fluff, Starvation, Trauma, Vampire Bites, Vampire Komaeda Nagito, Vampire Oma Kokichi, Vampire Sonia Nevermind, Vampire Towa Monaca, enoshima junko (mentioned) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27471907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sid_Gal/pseuds/Sid_Gal
Summary: Hajime and Izuru were the best of friends, ever since childhood. After the tragic death of their parents during their childhood, the brothers are eventually adopted by a rich family. Izuru was always thankful for Hajime being the hyper and happy-go-lucky boy he usually was. It was comforting to Izuru since he was nervous about this new lifestyle. Suddenly, after a certain tragedy takes place one night, Hajime goes silent and has a dead look in his eyes. He doesn’t even react to anything anymore. What’s with the sudden change in attitude? What on earth happened during that one tragic night?
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Kamukura Izuru, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So, this is my first time posting a fanfic onto this site and I don’t even write many fanfics to begin with soooo... I hope you guys will like this one. Please feel free to leave constructive criticism in the comments below! I’m still on the verge of writing improvement. I also have an art account on IG if you guys are interested (@sid_gallery)!  
> P.s. - The Prologue is pretty long so sorry if it gets boring. It’ll get interesting soon, I promise! Also, it’ll probably take awhile for me to do new uploads due to life and college stuff and I often get writers block (oh, new idea suggestions are always welcome too!) Alright, I’ll shut up now, have fun! :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief explanation of Hajime and Izuru’s backstory.  
> Hajime and Izuru arrive at their new home. Hajime already being thrilled and excited about this new lifestyle whereas Izuru... feels the opposite.

On a dark and rainy night, two young little boys were standing hand in hand with devastated looks on their faces. They were both standing right in front of two gravestones with an engraving of their parents names on them. These little boys were only 8 and 7 when tragedy struck and their parents had passed away suddenly. The 7 year old had long raven black hair that ended just above his ankles and had a pair of bright red eyes. His older brother had short brown hair, and had a pair of hazel colored eyes. The 7 year old slowly turned his head towards his older 8 year old brother, who was currently sniffling and letting his cheeks get wet as tears fell from his eyes. The 7 year old boy whose name was Izuru, decided to gently wrap his arms around his brother’s small head, so he could comfort both himself and his older brother. The 8 year old named Hajime proceeded to silently sob as his head was being gently caressed.

Suddenly, a tall adult man who happened to be friends with the deceased parents quietly walked up behind the two boys and lightly tapped Izuru’s shoulder.

“Pardon me.” the man said, as Izuru slowly turned to look up at him, “I apologize to interrupt this interaction, but I’m afraid it’s time to leave. It’s getting rather dark.”

Izuru glanced down at the ground, before looking back up at the man and slowly nodding.

Izuru then turned to the gravestones belonging to his parents before turning towards Hajime.

“Hajime.” Izuru said, in a soft tone, “We have to leave now.”

Hajime sniffled one last time and silently stared at the gravestones, without a response.

Izuru set a hand onto his brother’s shoulder.

“Hajime?” he said, “Hajime, I know you miss them. I do too. But we can’t stay here any longer. It’s getting dark out. We have to go back.”

Hajime sighed, before turning to Izuru.

“Okay…” he said with a somber nod.

With this, the two boys both left the cemetery with their parent's friend, both holding hands.

2 years have passed and the two boys were now riding alone in a horse driven carriage. 

It was also a bright and sunny day as the boys were currently being transported to their new home.

Hajime was anxiously sitting on his knees and pressing both of his small hands against the window of the carriage.

Meanwhile, Izuru was quietly reading a storybook, right next to him.

“Oh my gosh!” Hajime said with sheer excitement in his voice, “Izuru, look! Look at how beautiful this village is! All the villagers here look so friendly, the buildings are so colorful, there're so many beautiful flowers, and- OH LOOK IZURU LOOK!!”

Hajime’s sudden enthusiasm made Izuru flinch and turn towards the toy store that Hajime was pointing at.

“Wooooooow! Look at all those toys!” Hajime said, “I’ve never seen so many of them!”

“Ye- yes, that’s wonderful, but…” Izuru said, “Hajime, can you please stay in your seat? I know you're thrilled and all but… this enthusiasm is just… a bit overwhelming.”

Hajime did as he was told and plopped his butt down into his seat.

“Okay!” he said, “Sorry about that. It’s just like you said, I’m so thrilled to be here! We’re finally moving into a real home!”

“A ‘real’ home?” Izuru said, “But haven’t we already been living in-”

“... ‘In an orphanage’?” Hajime finished, “Yes that may be so, but I mean a home where we can have the house to ourselves. A home where we don’t have to worry about any of the other kids being mean to us. A home where we actually have new parents who chose to adopt us. A home where we have a family! A home where… it can be just the two of us. We can finally live with two parents just like before!”

Izuru frowned and glanced down at his feet.

“But…” he said, “It… it won’t be the same…”

Hajime lost his smile and gave a sympathetic look at Izuru.

Hajime glanced down at his hands and decided to gently take them and cup them into his.

Izuru was a little caught off guard and looked right into Hajime’s hazel colored eyes.

“I know that...” Hajime said, “But… we can still live together like one happy family again.”

“But…” Izuru said, while anxiously stroking his long black hair where a few strands had draped over his face, “But… what if… wh- what if they don’t like us? What if they don’t like you? Wh- what if they don’t like me?”

“What are you talking about?” Hajime said, “Of course they’re gonna like you! Why wouldn’t they like the amazing Izuru?”

As Hajime complemented Izuru, he held onto his face and squished both of his cheeks together.

“What on earth would make you think that they wouldn’t like you?” Hajime continued, “You have such a great personality! As well as being a lot more mannered and talented than I am.”

Izuru stifled a short chuckle.

“What? It’s true! People said you were the prodigy out of the two of us when we lived with our real mom and dad, remember?” Hajime said, “Everyone including me couldn’t believe how much you were able to do! You were skilled in vocabulary and literature, you were skilled in playing instruments, you were skilled in sports, you were skilled in… so many things! You’re amazing! And I’ve always wanted to be just as talented as you were someday.”

Izuru smirked.

“Thanks Hajime.” he said, “That’s very kind of you.”

Izuru then sighed.

At this point, the carriage started to turn towards a nearby forest and began to ride along the trails.

“I just…” he said, “Can’t help but feel very nervous. I wish I was as confident and excited as you are right now. That’s how I should be feeling anyways. But still…”

Izuru started holding onto his hair and stroking it with a nervous look in his eyes.

“It’s… a little scary.” he said.

“Then how about I hold your hand when we arrive?” Hajime suggested, “I wouldn’t mind that.”

“R- really?” Izuru said, “Y- you would do that?”

“Of course I would!” Hajime said, “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect and take care of my younger brother.”

Izuru smiled and nodded.

“Then…” he said, “Then I would like that.”

“CHILDREN!!” the carriage driver called out, “We have arrived at our destination!”

Hajime gasped, and immediately hopped out of his seat to lean out of the window.

“Hajime, careful!” Izuru said.

“Woooooow!” Hajime said, “Izuru, look at this place! It’s so huge!”

Izuru hopped out of his seat and walked next to Hajime and looked out the window to get a better view for himself.

“There certainly are a lot of trees here.” Izuru commented, “What even is this place? It looks isolated. There’s nothing but trees, hills, and a giant mansion straight ahead.”

There was in fact, a very wide path where the ground was made of stone, and on both sides of this giant path leading to the front door of the mansion, were two giant 50 story tall grass hills, with trees decorating the very top of both hills.

The mansion was placed at the center where a dead end was right behind the building.

The carriage finally came to a halt, and the footman hopped off of the back of the vehicle and made his way to the carriage door so he could let the boys out.

The footman opened the door, and Izuru carefully stepped out of the carriage.

“Thank you.” he said while giving a quick glance up at the footman.

Out of excitement, Hajime slipped on the carriage step and fell back into the carriage onto his rear.

Izuru shook his head and reached up to wrap both arms around Hajime’s torso and lift him out of the carriage. 

Izuru grunted as he attempted to carry his older brother out of the carriage and let out a big sigh after setting him down on his feet.

With this, the footman closed the door, and made his way back to the trunk of the carriage in order to retrieve the children’s luggage.

As the footman was retrieving the luggage, Izuru was already standing at the front gates of the mansion.

He was staring up at his new home with a look of both fear and amazement.

“Wow…” he said in awe.

Hajime walked up next to Izuru.

“I know right?” he said, “This is amazing! I can’t believe we get to live in another mansion! This one’s even bigger than the one we had before!”

“Y- yes, it is.” Izuru said as he glanced at his surroundings.

After anxiously observing his surroundings, where the intimidating hills provided trees that blocked out the sun, making the atmosphere a bit dark and spooky, Izuru started to become even more scared and even slightly skeptical.

Izuru groaned.

“A- and it certainly is a lot more frightening than our old home as well.” he added, “This is only making matters worse in terms of my anxiety.”

“Your luggage.” the footman said, as he walked up in between Hajime and Izuru.

“Oh, uh, thank you very much.” Izuru said as both him and his brother took their suitcases from the footman.

The boys both continued staring up at the mansion, now with suitcases in their hands.

Izuru nervously swallowed some saliva.

“I- I can’t help but notice…” he started saying, “Th- that this place looks… a bit haunted.”

“Well maybe that’s just because it’s old and has been around for years.” Hajime said, “There’s just no way for this house to actually be haunted. What are you afraid of? Ghosts? Vampires?”

“I- it’s none of that, I just…” Izuru sighed, “Perhaps it's just… my anxiety and fears getting the best of me.”

Hajime smiled.

“Hey, it’ll be alright.” he said, “You have absolutely nothing to be afraid of. These people will be lucky to have us as their children. They’ll love us, I’m sure of it.”

Hajime then held out his hand while carrying the handle of his suitcase around his wrist.

“And if you’re ever afraid for any reason,” he said, “You can feel free to hold my hand.”

“But… what if you’re not there?” Izuru said, “What if I’m by myself and I get scared?”

“You don’t have to think about that.” Hajime said, “Because I’ll never leave your side. I’ll always be with you and give you comfort when you need it.”

Izuru turned to give eye contact to his brother as he continued speaking.

“And even if there really were any monsters coming to get you, I’ll be sure to protect you and order them to leave for good.” Hajime teased, “Understand?”

Izuru chuckled before he slowly nodded and turned his attention back to the mansion.

Hajime sighed.

“Well…” Hajime said, “Shall we get going then?”

Izuru closed his eyes and let out a big sigh, in order to calm his nerves.

After that, Izuru nodded, and quickly grabbed Hajime's hand; squeezing it tightly.

“Yes.” he said with his eyes still glued to the mansion, “Let us meet our new family.”

After slowly opening the door and setting foot into the mansion, the two boys immediately marveled at how gorgeous and fancy the architecture was.

“Whooooooooa…” the boys both said, simultaneously.

“This is… this is beautiful.” Hajime said, “Just look at this place!”

Hajime let go of Izuru’s hand, dropped his luggage, and started running around the large room they were in, while Izuru slowly nodded in agreement.

Izuru took the time to observe every detail of the large room he stood in; the golden embroidery on the walls and furniture, the giant golden chandelier hanging right above the center of the room, the white marble floors beneath his feet, the navy blue staircase with golden railings, and a human sized statue of a praying angel, standing right next to a vase of magnolias.

Hajime chuckled and plopped himself down on the soft crimson red carpet that lay in the center of the room.

Hajime rolled side to side with his back laying down on the carpet.

“Wow, this carpet is so soft…” he said, “It’s so comforting.”

“Hajime!” Izuru said, “What are you doing?! That’s rude! We should wait until they enter the room to see us, so we can introduce ourselves before anything else. Besides, they might have minor rules like don’t roll around on the carpet, you never know.”

Hajime thought for a moment before standing up on his feet and making his way over to Izuru.

“Yes, perhaps you’re right…” he said, “My apologies.”

At this moment, the butler of the mansion strode into the room and stood right in front of the two brothers.

“Greetings, children.” he said, “I am the butler of this household. I presume that you are the boys who were adopted by my masters, correct?”

Both Hajime and Izuru glanced at one another before looking back up at the butler.

“Uuh, y- yes.” Izuru answered, “Yes, we are. I- I’m Izuru and this is my older brother Haj-”

“Yes, I remember your names.” the butler said, “My masters have spoken about you before your arrival. Anyways, I’ve been instructed to inform you that unfortunately your new parents will not be present to meet you today.”

“What?!” Hajime said, “You can’t be serious?”

“Well then, where could they be?” Izuru asked.

“They are both away at the moment for a mere business trip.” the butler said while adjusting his glasses, “They’ve said that they were both very disappointed that they could not come and meet you on the day of your arrival. So for the time being, as they are both absent, I will be your caretaker until they return from their travels.”

“And…” Izuru said, “Wh- when should they return?”

“Hmm…” the butler said with a pondering look on his face, “If I recall correctly… I believe that they said they’d be gone for… about a month.”

“A month?!” Hajime and Izuru said in unison.

“Why this is just unpropitious timing, isn’t it?” Izuru said while setting a hand onto his forehead.

“My deepest apologies master Izuru.” the butler said with a quick bow, “Now their absence aside, I’ve also been informed to tell you that you boys are given the permission to explore the mansion at your leisure. Just as long as you don’t touch or break any valuable artifact. Now before you explore your new household, I shall escort you to your new bedroom.”

“So wait, are you implying that you’re not going to give us a tour?” Izuru said, “Why not?”

“Because I have to assist the other staff members in preparing a… pleasant surprise for you boys.” the butler said.

Hajime gasped as his eyes lit up.

“A surprise?” he said.

“Indeed.” the butler nodded, “And I’ll make sure that it is ready by dinner time.”

The butler then walked over to the boy's luggage and gathered them in his arms.

“So, let us venture upstairs to your room then, shall we?” he said, “Come along now.”

With this, the boys both followed the butler up the staircase.

The butler led the boys upstairs to a large white door with a golden label on it. The boys noticed that the label had both of their names engraved on it.

Hajime and Izuru both looked at each other as the butler opened the door and stepped aside to let them in before him.

“Your room.” he said.

The boys both gasped quietly, and were amazed at how large the room was.

The room also had a balcony coming off of it.

The boys were also amazed at how their shared room was very well decorated.

There was a banner hanging just above the entrance to the balcony that read “Welcome Hajime and Izuru!”, as well as two boxes with red ribbons tied around them.

Each box was sitting on the two large beds in the room.

Hajime bounced on his toes before running towards one of the beds and throwing himself onto the mattress.

“These beds are so soft!” he said, right before he sat up and grabbed the present that was sitting right next to him.

Hajime sat the present onto his lap and read the label that was on the box.

“To Hajime.” he read aloud, “Hey, maybe that present over there is for you then!”

Hajime pointed over at the other bed as he spoke to Izuru, to which Izuru looked over in that direction and slowly walked over to that bed.

While Hajime was eagerly opening his present, Izuru reached for his box and read the label on it.

“To: Izuru”

Izuru then set the box down onto the floor and sat on his knees before untying the ribbon around the box.

Just as Izuru finished untying the ribbon, he was startled by Hajime’s excitement and turned to see what the cause of Hajime’s sudden outburst was.

Hajime was holding a large stuffed rabbit toy and a bundle of new clothes.

“Wow, look at this!” Hajime said as he sat the rabbit toy on his lap.

Izuru looked back down at his box and lifted the lid off of it.

In the box was a stuffed teddy bear and a bundle of clothes.

The butler set the boys suitcases on the floor at the foot of their beds.

“Yes, those are the gifts given from your new parents.” the butler said, “Are you content with these presents?”

“I- yes, yes I am.” Izuru said, “I’m just… I wasn’t expecting them to take the time to give us these gifts. They certainly are very generous.”

“Indeed.” the butler said with a single nod and a smirk, “As a matter of fact, I can speak for myself when I say that they are the most kind hearted couple I’ve served.”

Izuru stifled a small smirk, and glanced down at his teddy bear.

At this moment, he started to feel more calm and relaxed, now that the butler himself has guaranteed that the couple who adopted him and his brother were very kind and hospitable.

“Well, I shall leave you two to explore the mansion at your leisure.” the butler said as he folded his hands behind him and started walking towards the door, “And if there is anything that you boys need, please do not hesitate to call for me. I am at your service.”

Hajime hopped off of his bed, before both him and Izuru bowed to the butler.

“Thank you for your service.” they both said simultaneously.

“My pleasure.” the butler said, “Oh, and I’ve almost forgotten. Please try to remember to change into your new clothes and meet me at the dining hall at around 5:30 sharp.”

“Yes mister.” Hajime said.

With this, the butler nodded and left the room.

Immediately after the butler left, Hajime turned to Izuru and grabbed both of his hands with a bright smile on his face.

“So what do you think?” he asked, “This isn’t so bad now, is it? They were even kind enough to give us toys and nice clothes! There’s certainly nothing to be afraid of! You can tell, can’t you?”

Izuru smirked.

“Yes.” he said, “I can see that now. I suppose it was silly of me to think anything less of this couple. Perhaps there really isn’t anything for me to be afraid of.”

“See? I told you!” Hajime said, “Not even a single monster in this house either!” he then teased as he put both hands onto his hips.

Izuru gave Hajime a playful nudge, to which Hajime responded with a chuckle.

“Now let’s go see what else our new home has to offer!” he then said.

With this, Hajime ran out of the room while holding onto his brother’s hand.

After half an hour of exploring every room in the mansion, the boys both returned to their shared bedroom in order to change into their matching outfits for dinner time.

Both Hajime and Izuru were wearing long sleeve white button down shirts, black bow ties, black suspenders, black pants that went down to their knees, knee-high white socks, and a pair of black shoes.

Hajime decided to bring his new stuffed animal along with him.

When the boys arrived at the doors of the dining hall, the butler was already standing in front of the door waiting for them, with a smirk on his face.

“I see that you’ve remembered.” said the butler, “You two are just in time.”

The two boys both glanced at each other before glancing back up at the butler.

“Alright then.” the butler said as he grabbed the handle of the door, “Let us dine together.” 

With this, the butler opened the door to reveal the dining hall which provided a long, giant dining table decorated with silver platters, candles, and a large vase filled with dozens of magnolias.

“Wow, you sure have a lot of magnolias in this household.” Izuru pointed out.

“Yes, why they just so happen to be favored by the lady of the house.” the butler said, “Come. Let us take a seat.”

The butler then led each child to their seat and carried both of them onto their chairs.

After helping the children into their chairs, the butler sat down in his own seat and clapped his hands.

The moment he clapped his hands, the maids walked to Hajime and Izuru’s seats and lifted the covers off the silver platters that sat right in front of them.

Hajime gasped at the sight of what was on his plate.

“Wow, this looks delicious!” he said, right before he grabbed a utensil to start eating.

“So,” the butler said as he started picking up his own utensil, “What do you boys think of your new home? Is there anything that pleases you? Anything you may have questions about?”

“Uh, no, not necessarily.” Izuru said while briefly glancing at Hajime, who was currently stuffing his face with food, “No questions, I mean. But in terms of pleasure and satisfaction, I’m sure that we’re both very content and satisfied with this place.”

“Well I’m very glad to hear that.” said the butler, “Now, I have a question if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh, uh…” Izuru said, “Wh- what might that be?”

The butler cleared his throat after having a drink from his cup.

“I’ve noticed that you seem to have… an advanced way of speaking.” the butler said, “At least for someone your age. How is that? How do you know the correct way to use these big words? And how do you know the meaning behind them?”

“Well, to put it simply…” Izuru said, “I was called a prodigy within our old household. The adults often described me as ‘a fast learner’, or ‘a very talented child who’s talent might as well just be talent itself’. I was put into advanced classes, and had done many things, including learning how to read advanced literature, thus the reason why I speak the way I do.”

The butler nodded.

“Hm…” he said, “Very interesting. I suppose that you’ll do very well in our lessons then.”

“Lessons?” Izuru said.

“Yes.” the butler said while dabbing his mouth with a napkin, “You see, the moment those adoption papers were finalized, we’ve decided to hire several teachers, one for each subject, so you two could be homeschooled. Soon enough you’ll be given lessons such as music, art, reading, sports, and among other subjects.”

“Oh, I see.” Izuru said.

Suddenly Hajime dropped a piece of food on his stuffed rabbit toy, as he was eating.

“Aww…” Hajime said as he noticed the new stain on top of the toy’s head, “It got dirty.”

“Do not worry.” the butler said, “I’ll have the maids clean it up for you and it’ll be good as new.”

“Really?” Hajime said, “Thank you!”

“Say, you really do like that rabbit, don’t you?” the butler commented.

“Yeah, Usami’s great!” Hajime said, “She’s so soft and cute!”

“Pardon me?” the butler said, “Usami?”

“Oh, that’s the name I gave her.” Hajime said as he raised his rabbit toy, “I thought she looked like an ‘Usami’ so I named her Usami!”

“Ah, I see.” said the butler, “Well, I’m very pleased to know that you enjoy… Usami’s company.”

Hajime nodded and continued eating his food.

The butler glanced between the two boys, as an awkward silence fell between the three of them, until the butler folded his hands and cleared his throat.

“So,” the butler said, trying his best to build up conversation, “Um… wh- what… what books do you boys like to read?”

“Oh, well-” Izuru said, until his brother cut him off, while standing up from his chair.

“The Curse of the Witching Hour!” Hajime exclaimed.

“Oh,” the butler said, “Is that so? I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of that story.”

“Oh, it’s our favorite!” Hajime said, “It’s about these siblings who got along really well, until one of them starts acting very peculiar.”

“Peculiar you say?” the butler said, actually taking interest in this story, “How so?”

“Well, they wandered out of their bedroom one night and was later found unconscious.” Hajime explained, “After his family found him lying motionless on the floor, he eventually woke up, but as a completely different person with different mannerisms. They were quiet and didn’t speak too often, they even started eating less, and they often appeared very sad and depressed. Whenever the people around him asked why he looked the way he did, he would always answer with silence.”

“Hmm… that is quite peculiar.” the butler agreed, “Did this story ever establish why this sudden change in demeanor occurred?”

“Yes, now that’s where things start to get interesting.” Hajime said with a nod while lifting his index finger, “You see, the sibling with the sudden change in behavior went to sleep one night, but he never woke up. Many of his family members would always come and visit him to try and wake him up, but he never opened his eyes. The family eventually decides to call a doctor to see if anything was wrong… that was when to their surprise, the doctor told them that their son was dead and he was cold as ice.”

The butler’s eyes widened.

“Goodness.” he commented, “How dreadful.”

“But!” Hajime said, “Although he felt as if he were dead, the twist is that he really wasn’t. In fact, he arises from his coffin one night, to discover that he has suddenly been transformed as a bloodthirsty monster with razor sharp fangs!”

As he described the monster, Hajime bent both of his index fingers and held them to his teeth to make his fingers act like fangs.

“A vampire?” the butler guessed, “My goodness! That is quite the twist! How do the other members of his family react?”

Izuru gave a look of discomfort, and so did Hajime.

“Uh… w- well…” Hajime said, as he fiddled with the bow on Usami’s ear.

Izuru watched and waited for Hajime to continue speaking, but eventually decided to finish the sentence for him, as he was obviously uncomfortable.

“A- are you alright my boy?” the butler asked with a look of concern.

“Yes, it’s just…” Izuru explained, “Well… the story doesn’t really have a happy ending.”

“Oh, is that so?” the butler said, “But… you said this was your favorite book…?”

“Well yes, but…” Izuru said, “A- although it does have an unpleasant ending… we still tend to like the anticipation and mystery behind the build up of the vampire transformation. Or in other words, it’s more like… we enjoy the suspicion behind it all. We also like hearing the descriptions of vampires along with what possibilities they can provide for themselves. It simply sparked our shared imagination whenever we played games and put on our own plays for our parents. In other words, it’s pretty much what brought our family together.”

“Hm, how interesting.” the butler said, “But, mind if I ask what that unfortunate ending to the story was?”

Izuru and Hajime glanced at one another before Izuru finally answered the butler’s question.

“He…” he said, “He… he ended up eradicating his own family mercilessly.”

The butler’s eyes widened once again.

“Oh my…” he said, “That’s… that’s awful. Wh-... ha- how were you two able to read this story? Aren’t you a little too young to be reading something so morbid?”

“That… that may be true, but…” Izuru said, “Like I’ve said before, we’ve enjoyed the feeling of anticipation from the story. And since we were both rather… disturbed… we would always interrupt that part of the story and create our own endings. Each night had a different ending and would also spark up some interesting conversation. Like what we imagined would happen if we became vampires or if there were such things as vampires or something like that.”

“Which tended to frustrate our mother just a little bit.” Hajime added, “I mean it was usually during night time right before we went to bed. And we would always talk for a looooooong time.”

“Indeed.” Izuru said, smirking at the memory of his late mother, “We made things rather difficult for her during those times.”

“Your mother…” the butler said, “Pardon me, but… mind if I ask about your parents? Specifically… their whereabouts?”

Once again, the boys both exchanged somber looks, before Izuru answered his question.

“Well…” he began, “They… they both… passed away 2 years ago. Our mother was deathly ill, and after a few days of her passing, tragedy also struck upon our father, as he had passed away from his grievances.”

“Oh…” the butler said, seeming to have regretted asking his question, “I- my deepest apologies. And you have my condolences.”

Izuru gave the butler a sad smirk.

“Thank you…” he said, before glancing back down at his now empty plate.

The butler gave the boys a sympathetic look, until he suddenly had an idea on how to end this melancholy situation.

The butler clapped his hands again, to which the maids immediately came back and took away the empty platters.

“Now,” the butler began saying, “It seems that the time has finally arrived for your surprise.”

Hajime's face immediately lit up as he gasped.

“Surprise?!” he said excitedly, while hopping up and down in his seat, “Yay! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!”

“Hajime, please sit down.” Izuru said quietly.

The butler chuckled right before he looked over at the door to the kitchen and called out to the cooks.

“Cooks!” he called out, “Bring it out!”

With this, two men dressed as chefs were both on either side, helping each other carry one big cake.

The cake was white and vanilla frosted, decorated with strawberries and frosted writing.

Once the chefs set the cake down in between Hajime and Izuru, both Hajime and Izuru decided to lean in closer to the cake in order to read what it said.

“For our beloved sons: Hajime and Izuru”

Both boys looked at each other and smiled.

“Well?” the butler said, “What do you think of your surprise?”

“We love it!” Hajime said, “This cake looks amazing! I can’t wait to eat it!”

“Well, go on then.” the butler said, gesturing to the cake, “Take a piece.”

Without hesitation, Hajime immediately grabbed a fork and stabbed the top of the cake with it.

“Oh, uh n- not… not like that…” the butler said.

Hajime scooped a piece out of the cake with his fork and shoved it into his mouth.

Hajime smiled and laid a hand onto his cheek while he was chewing.

“Mmm!” he said, “This is fantastic!”

Hajime suddenly scooped up another piece from the cake and held his fork out towards Izuru.

Hajime was also sitting up on the table with one knee and his free hand leaning on the table.

“Izuru! You have to try this!” he said.

“Uh- Hajime, please stay in your sea- mmf!” Izuru was interrupted by Hajime shoving the cake into his mouth.

Izuru started chewing on the piece of cake that was forcefully fed to him.

“Well…?” Hajime said, “What do you think?”

Izuru’s eyes suddenly widened and lit up, as he laid a hand onto his cheek.

“This is… the best thing I’ve ever tasted.” he said.

“See? Told you!” Hajime said, “Come on, have some more!”

With this, both boys took their forks and started stabbing the cake and shoveling it into their mouths. Even Izuru was now sitting up on the table like his older brother.

“I- slow down now…” the butler said, “We don’t want to give ourselves stomach aches.”

Hajime suddenly hopped out of his seat and made his way over to the butler, with his fork in hand.

The butler was amazed at how much frosting was already decorating Hajime’s face.

“Here, you have some too!” Hajime said as he held the fork up to him.

The butler glanced at the piece of cake and back to Hajime’s face.

Hajime’s eyes were lit up and to go with it, a sweet and innocent smile.

The butler sighed, knowing that he couldn’t possibly say ‘no’ to that adorable face.

The butler defeatedly nodded and took the fork from Hajime, in order to try a piece himself.

“Mm, thank you very much.” the butler said with a nod, “That’s very generous of you.”

“It’s good, right?” Hajime said.

“Uh, yes!” the butler said, “Yes, it sure is.”

Hajime chuckled and ran back to his seat, proceeding to feed himself more cake.

The butler smirked at the two boys, feeling relieved to know that the children appeared to be content in this household.

That night, the butler led the two boys into their bedroom.

“Alright then,” the butler said as he started walking over to the closet right after they all entered the room, “Time to put on your nightgowns.”

The butler opened the closet and pulled out two matching white nightgowns made of silk.

“Ah, here we are…” he said as he held out the nightgowns towards the boys, “Now put these on.”

The boys nodded and both grabbed their nightgowns to change into.

After changing into their nightgowns, the boys both sat on the mattress of Izuru’s bed.

“Well…” the butler said, “I suppose it’s alright for me to leave you be, yes? Or is there anything else you need from me?”

“Oh no, nothing else, thank you.” Izuru said while shaking his head.

“Thank you so much mister.” Hajime said.

The butler nodded as he reached for the doorknob.

“My pleasure.” the butler said, “Have a goodnight.”

With this, the butler closed the door and left the room to go to his own.

Hajime reached for a hairbrush that was sitting on Izuru’s bedside table and decided to sit on his knees behind Izuru in order to brush and play with his long black hair.

While Hajime was gently brushing his younger brother’s hair, Izuru started closing his eyes and smirked.

He was reminded of the times when his late mother would gently brush his hair and comb her fingers through it, in order to soothe him. Ever since their parents passed away, Hajime decided to carry on his mother’s technique and comb Izuru’s hair in hopes that it would still soothe him, whenever he felt stressed, anxious, or upset. Luckily, the technique still seemed to work.

“Feel any better, Izuru?” Hajime asked.

“Yes,” Izuru said, “I do. Not only because of this… but… I’m starting to already feel much more comfortable and content in this new household. I’m assuming that it’s due to the kind and hospitable butler. His overall attitude and demeanor just makes this household a lot more… welcoming.”

Hajime smiled.

“I couldn’t agree more.” he said, “I’m glad that you’re feeling much better about this situation.”

“You know, Hajime…” Izuru began to say, “Even if I weren’t satisfied with this new lifestyle… I would still be happy.”

Hajime paused and briefly stopped brushing his brother’s hair.

He gave a look of confusion and leaned over Izuru’s shoulder in order to take a look at his face.

“Huh?” Hajime said, “What do you mean?”

Izuru turned his head so that his eyes met with Hajime’s.

“Say that I was still a bit skeptical and uncomfortable about this place…” he explained, “Say that I was still afraid and nervous about being adopted into this unrecognizable household. Despite all of those unsure emotions… I would still feel an ounce of comfort and happiness within me.”

Izuru then gave a sweet and innocent smirk, while tilting his head slightly.

“And that’s simply because…” he said, “I get to have you by my side forever.”

Hajime gave a wide eyed look while his cheeks became pink.

“If I was in this situation alone, I…” Izuru said while fiddling with the cloth on his nightgown, “I don’t know what I would do… I would probably be in that state of fear and nervousness longer than I just have. But since you’re around to keep me company and assure my safety… I feel a sense of hope and relief. You’ve given me emotional support. You’re always there by my side to make situations brighter. Never breaking away from a smile on your face, always giving off such a happy and cheerful attitude… even after mother and father's passing.”

Hajime didn’t know how to respond to this. In fact, he was flustered by his brother’s genuine words.

Hajime then glanced off to the side and let out a short sigh.

He suddenly tossed the brush beside him, and made his way next to Izuru, before wrapping his arms around him.

As Hajime was hugging Izuru from beside him, he pulled him in closer, and closed his eyes as his small head leaned against Izuru’s.

Izuru gave a look of shock, after being thrown off guard by this sudden hug.

“H- Hajime…?” Izuru said.

“I try…” Hajime said in a serious tone, “I try… to be happy and cheerful. I try to make myself appear as carefree and energetic. Someone who sees the good in everything around him.”

Hajime sighed through his nose.

“But… to tell you the truth…” he said, “The majority of those moments… are just a mere act.”

“A… an act…?” Izuru replied.

“Yes.” Hajime said, “I just thought that… as the elder brother… that it was my duty to keep you happy… therefore I tried my best to portray a positive attitude. Even if I wasn’t really happy.”

Now Izuru was the one who didn’t know what to say. He was not only thrown off guard by the sudden hug, but by the sudden change in Hajime’s attitude.

Izuru then wrapped an arm around Hajime’s back, finally returning the hug.

“Hajime, you…” Izuru started saying, “You… don’t really need to do that.”

“Huh?” Hajime said.

“You don’t… need to wear a mask just for my sake.” Izuru said, “Although it is very considerate of you. I’d preferably have you be more honest than lie to me about your emotions and well being. While wearing a mask can be what’s best in some cases… it isn’t very good for your mental health if you keep the mask on for a long period of time. Just remember that… you don’t have to pretend all the time. You should also do what’s best for yourself and take care of yourself.”

After a short silence, Hajime calmly closed his eyes and smirked.

“You always did have a way with words.” Hajime said, “Just like mommy.”

Izuru gasped quietly, just at the mention of his late mother.

Just like Hajime said, their mother did in fact have a way with words. Not only in the sense of romance when interacting with their father, but also wise words and words of wisdom when teaching her sons valuable life lessons.

With this, Izuru smiled, closed his eyes, and shed a single tear, as he held onto Hajime tightly and pulled him closer so that their chests touched.


	2. Halloween Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Halloween Night and the boys are taken to a festival downtown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s fluff before shit goes down :)

The next morning, the butler quietly creaked the boy's bedroom door open to find both Hajime and Izuru sleeping beside each other on Izuru’s enormous bed.

Both boys were sleeping on their sides and were facing each other, while their small hands were laid out in front of their faces, nearly touching each other.

Izuru’s hair was also sprawled out onto the bed.

The butler smirked at the adorable sight, and even felt slightly guilty for what he was about to do.

The butler quietly walked over to Izuru’s bed and lightly shook Izuru’s shoulder, as well as Hajime’s.

“Wake up boys.” he said, “It is time for your lessons.”

Both boys started furrowing their eyebrows while groaning tiredly.

Hajime tossed and turned, while Izuru slowly sat up and rubbed his eye.

“Also, breakfast has already been served.” the butler added, “So you must come to the dining room after you're dressed.”

Izuru nodded while he yawned.

“Understood.” he yawned, “We’ll be there right away.”

The butler nodded and made his way to the door.

Just as the butler put his hand onto the handle, he turned with a smirk growing across his face.

“And another thing…” he said, “Tonight is Halloween night, is it not?”

Izuru pondered about this for a good second and nodded slowly.

“Well, I’ll be excited to inform you that the maids and I have worked very hard to design your costumes for tonight.” the butler said, “You may change into them right after your lessons if you wish.”

With that, the butler left the room and closed the door behind him.

That afternoon, after the boys had finished their lessons, they both eagerly ran through the mansion to go upstairs to their shared bedroom.

Hajime was running ahead of Izuru, so once he reached the door to the bedroom, he swung it open and immediately headed to his bed.

Izuru ran towards his bed as well, and found a long black cloak laid out on the mattress, along with a pair of fake black goat horns and a pair of short black gloves.

The cloak was a long sleeve with white fur at the cuff of the sleeves, and the bottom of the cloak. The white fur was also surrounding the collar of the cloak and there were 6 white puff balls acting as the buttons for Izuru’s cloak.

To wear underneath the cloak were a pair of long white stockings and black flats.

“What did you get Izuru?” Hajime said with pure excitement in his voice.

Izuru turned with the cloak in his hands and held it up to Hajime.

“I got this,” he said, “It appears to be some sort of devil costume.”

“Oooooh, spooky!” Hajime said, right before picking up his costume and proudly holding it up to Izuru, “Look what I got!”

Hajime was holding a black suit and tie, along with black knee high shorts, white knee high socks, black loafers, and a long black vampire cape.

“Ah I see.” Izuru nodded, observing the costume being shown to him, “You got a vampire costume.”

Hajime nodded eagerly and dropped his costume onto the bed, before pulling down his pants to change into the costume.

Izuru turned away from Hajime and began to change as well.

After changing, the boys both ran down the stairs in their costumes, and once they got to the bottom, Hajime grabbed Izuru’s forearm and pulled him close.

“Wha- Hajime, what-” Izuru was shushed by his brother.

“Shh!” Hajime said while holding his index finger to his lips, “Izuru!” he whispered, “Let’s go find the butler and scare him while we’re in our costumes!”

“Scare him?” Izuru said, “B- but that seems rather rude, don’t you think?”

“Oh come on! It’s Halloween!” Hajime said, “It’ll be fun! I promise!”

Without giving Izuru another chance to oppose the idea, Hajime grabbed onto his wrist and ran through the mansion in search of the butler.

Hajime finally found the butler having a conversation with one of the maids in the kitchen.

Hajime, with Izuru’s wrist still in his hand, started snickering as he peeked into the doorframe of the kitchen’s entrance.

Hajime turned his head to look at Izuru and giggled with a mischievous grin.

Izuru sighed, as Hajime turned his attention back to the butler inside the kitchen.

After the maid nodded to the butler and left to tend to washing dishes, Hajime finally tiptoed into the room and threw his arms around the butler’s legs while screaming out.

“BOO!” he hollered.

The butler flinched and let out a yelp, before turning his head around, to see Hajime hugging his legs from behind.

The butler sighed, and laid a hand upon his chest before letting out a nervous chuckle.

“My goodness…” he said, “You scared the dickens out of me!”

Hajime giggled.

“Happy Halloween!” he said with an innocent smile.

Izuru had been standing just outside of the kitchen and slowly began to walk in.

The butler caught sight of Izuru as he entered the room.

“I must say, you two look wonderful in your costumes.” the butler commented, “I’m glad we didn’t underestimate your clothing sizes.”

“Yeah! We love em’!” Hajime said, “You even made me into a vampire!”

The butler chuckled.

“Yes well,” he said, “After you told me about that favorite story of yours, I figured it’d be most fitting.”

Hajime chuckled and hugged the butler tightly.

“Thank you.” he said.

The butler slowly pat Hajime’s back, “You’re most welcome.”

Hajime let go of the butler and stepped backwards to finally give him space.

The butler folded his hands behind him.

“So,” he said, while glancing at a window, “It appears to be getting darker already. How about we go downtown to the festival tonight, hm? I hear there are many games, treats, and activities to be found.”

Hajime gasped and hopped up and down on his toes.

Hajime also turned his head to Izuru with a squeal of excitement.

Izuru couldn’t help but smirk at the innocent and excited look on his brother's face.

That night, the butler took the boys downtown, to join the Halloween festival that took place once every year.

The butler bought toys and trinkets along with the boys, and even bought gifts for them behind the boys backs.

Hajime happily played games and got sweets alongside his brother, also making sure that he was also having fun and was genuinely happy. And indeed Izuru was genuinely happy. Izuru was happy spending time at the festival, but what made him happy most of all, was simply holding hands and being with Hajime.

After what felt like a long night of festivities, the boys were brought home and immediately threw themselves into their beds, feeling exhausted and tired as ever.

The boys didn’t even bother to change into their nightgowns, and the butler didn’t even bother to remind them to do so.


	3. The Curse of the Witching Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit starts to go down...

That same night, while Izuru was still fast asleep in his Halloween costume, Hajime had suddenly woken up and rubbed his eyes.

Hajime yawned and decided he was thirsty so he hopped out of bed and quietly tip toed downstairs to make his way to the kitchen.

Once he entered the kitchen, Hajime immediately spotted the water pitcher on a side table that was located right underneath shelves of antique decorative dishes.

In order to reach the side table, Hajime walked out of the kitchen and came back with a chair taken from the dining room.

Hajime set the chair down and climbed onto the seat, before grabbing one of the glass cups that were arranged right next to the pitcher, and pouring himself a glass of water.

After setting the pitcher down, Hajime began chugging his water, when he suddenly heard a faint crashing noise that sounded as if it were coming from a different room.

Hajime paused and quickly turned around with wary eyes.

Hajime looked at his surroundings, before slowly climbing down the chair and walking out of the kitchen with his half empty cup in hand.

Hajime looked at his surroundings as he slowly began to creep up to the room where he heard the strange crashing sound.

Hajime’s heart was slightly starting to beat faster than usual, as his body started shivering with fear. 

Hajime also started breathing heavily in quiet breaths, the closer he got to the door.

Hajime hesitated to open the door once he finally approached it, but eventually reached up to the doorknob and cautiously turned it.

Hajime opened the door with a tiny creak at first, only being able to see a sliver of the red carpet on the floor and what looked to be a broken window with several glass shards scattered all over the place.

Hajime stared at the broken window with wide eyes, and was beginning to have second thoughts. Should he really enter that room where a potential intruder could be? Did he really think it was safe to do so? Should he go wake up the butler and tell him what he heard and saw? 

Conflicted on what to do, Hajime glanced behind him, before eventually deciding to enter the room himself, since curiosity ended up getting the best of him. 

Taking in a deep breath, Hajime slowly opened the door to see what exactly was going on.

Unfortunately, he was met with a terrifying and utterly horrible sight.

This was when Izuru was suddenly woken up by the sound of Hajime’s blood curdling scream.

Izuru’s red eyes shot wide open, as he shot up from his bed and frantically looked at his surroundings.

Once he saw that Hajime’s bed was empty, Izuru jumped out of bed and bolted out of the room and down the staircase.

Izuru headed towards the door that was already found open, and gasped as he stood in the doorframe.

His heart started beating at an alarming rate, his fear and anxiety shot through the roof, tears welled up in his eyes, and he was trembling with goosebumps arising in his skin.

What he saw gave him an overwhelming amount of despair.

An unconscious and motionless Hajime laid face down in his own blood that was staining the middle of the carpet. The glass shards left over from when Hajime dropped and spilled his water seemed to have given small cuts on his wrist and palm.

After his eyes had darted around the room, strangely finding no one else who was present, Izuru hurriedly ran towards his brother and fell to his knees beside his unconscious body.

“Ha- ha- Hajime?!!” Izuru stuttered, “Wh- wha-... wh- what happened? Wh- why is everything broken? Wh- why are you… bleeding? Ha- how could this have happe-”

“I- Izuru…?”

Izuru gasped quietly.

“Ha- Hajime…” Izuru said, “Wh- what happened? A- are you okay? How bad are your injuries?”

Hajime groaned as Izuru carefully started to swing Hajime’s arm around his shoulders so he could carry him to his feet. Although he was obviously struggling since Hajime was a bit taller and heavier than he was and… well, he was a child.

“I- I fell hard, s- so that would explain why my head hurts…” Hajime said as he laid a hand onto his forehead, “As for the blood, I… I- I can’t remember anything. I- I’m sorry.”

Izuru gave a wary look to Hajime before shaking his head, as if to wake up from a trance.

“Don’t worry…” Izuru said, “You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine, I promise…”

As he said the last sentence, Izuru sounded as if he was unsure of his words.

Izuru hauled his brother out of the room with all his strength, and was only able to reach the bottom of the staircase, before getting exhausted.

Izuru glanced behind him and saw that a trail of blood drops were leading up to Hajime.

Izuru then took a large deep breath before shouting as loud as he could, not caring if he woke up the whole mansion.

“HAJIME’S BLEEDING!!!” he screamed with a strain in his voice, “SOMEONE PLEASE HELP US!!! WE REALLY NEED SOMEONE’S HELP, PLEASE!!! I CAN’T CARRY HIM ON MY OWN!!!”

Suddenly, the butler came rushing to the top of the staircase and gasped before running down the staircase.

“Izuru?!?” he exclaimed, “I- what on earth happened here?!! Why is he bleeding everywhere?!? Why are you two even out of bed?!!!”

The butler said this as he scooped up Hajime in his arms.

“I- I don’t know what happened!!” Izuru said, “I- I wish I did, b- but… I was asleep a- and then I heard Hajime screaming downstairs so I went to find him and… a- and that’s when I just found him lying on the floor with shattered glass everywhere and his blood staining the carpet. He was also unconscious and he said it was because he fell hard.”

The butler sighed with an anxious look in his eyes.

“We have to get him some medical attention post haste.” the butler said, “Come along. We’re going back to your room.”

With this, Izuru followed the butler upstairs.


	4. A Sudden Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A despair filled chapter... upupupupupu

“Well…” the doctor said, after taking Hajime’s temperature, “He doesn’t appear to be having an unusually high temperature. So at least his temperature is average.”

The butler stood right next to the doctor who stood over Hajime who was lying in bed, while Izuru fearfully stood at the foot of Hajime’s bed, not taking his eyes off of him, not even for a second.

The look on Hajime’s face was one of the things that feared Izuru and sent a chill down his spine.

Hajime had lost the color in his eyes. Those eyes used to portray innocence and cheerfulness… but all they portrayed now were emptiness and pools of despair.

While staring at this new and emotionless expression on Hajime’s face, Izuru couldn’t help but wonder… 

“He looks… traumatized. If that were the case then… what on earth could he have seen…?”

The doctor cleared his throat and lightly tapped on Hajime’s shoulder.

“My boy…” the doctor said, “Can you please tell me why you were lying in shattered glass? Or why there was even shattered glass to begin with?”

Hajime had no response, and only continued to stare at nothing with the dead and emotionless look in his eyes.

The doctor cleared his throat again.

“Um… excuse me,” the doctor said, “I was asking you a ques-”

“He doesn’t know.”

Both the butler and the doctor turned their heads to Izuru with confused looks.

“I- I beg your pardon young man?” the doctor said.

Izuru was suddenly giving off a glare while crossing his arms.

“He said he didn’t know…” he said impatiently, “He said he forgot about what happened before he fell unconscious and injured his head. I reckon you should know about this injury of his and the symptoms of amnesia, since you’re a doctor and everything. How can you look past an important detail like that? Or are you truly that ignorant?”

The two adults were taken aback by Izuru’s rude remark.

The butler and the doctor both exchanged surprised looks, before the butler walked up to Izuru and gestured for him to leave the room.

“I- I’m terribly sorry doctor…” the butler said, as he was leading Izuru towards the door, “Excuse us for just a moment.”

With that, both the butler and Izuru left the doctor alone with Hajime.

The butler sighed and set both hands onto his hips.

“Now Izuru,” he said, “What made you say such things? Why must you behave that way towards the doctor? You do realize that the doctor is only trying his best to save your older brother.”

Izuru glanced off to the side and then sighed through his nose.

“I… I apologize.” he said, “I suppose I’m just… frustrated and afraid. Hajime was pretty much the only one who was keeping me happy. He was the one who gave me hope for a bright future. But then tragedy had to strike down on someone who doesn’t deserve to suffer. I’ve just lost my mother and father… and I just can’t fathom the idea of suddenly losing Hajime. If that were to happen… I’d be left alone… with nothing but despair keeping me company.”

The butler sat down on his knees to meet Izuru’s eye level and set both hands onto his shoulders.

This was when the butler noticed that behind the black strands of hair that partially covered Izuru’s face… were small drops of tears trickling down his cheeks.

The butler sighed and tried to give a reassuring smile.

“Now now…” he said in a gentle tone, “Let’s not jump to conclusions. You must have hope. Thinking about the worst that would happen will only make matters worse for you. You don’t want anxiety and fear to keep piling up inside you. Just have hope. At least that’s the best we can do for now.”

Izuru sniffed and wiped his tears away before nodding.

Suddenly the door opened with the doctor standing in the doorway.

“I’m… sorry to interrupt, but uh…” the doctor said, gesturing for the butler to come back into the room, “Can you… come in for a brief moment?”

The butler turned back to Izuru before looking back up at the doctor.

“Alright then.” the butler said as he stood up and followed the doctor into the room, leaving Izuru alone to calm down and process the tense situation.

The doctor led the butler towards the bed and gestured to a specific body part of Hajime’s.

“Do you see anything peculiar?” the doctor asked, in a way that sounded as if he already knew what that ‘peculiar’ thing was.

The butler leaned in towards the body part that the doctor was gesturing towards and gave a puzzled look when he noticed….. two holes in Hajime’s neck.

“It… it looks as if something has somehow pierced through his neck.” the butler said with a pondering look on his face, “I’m thankful that it doesn’t seem to have gone deep but… what on earth does this mean?”

“Well, I’ve established in my mind that it definitely wasn’t a glass shard.” the doctor pointed out, “Even if a glass shard had pierced through his skin, there’s just no way it would make perfectly round holes like that.”

The butler turned to the doctor and gave him a look as if to say “No shit, Sherlock.”

“Yeeees…” the butler said, “The only possible thing I can think of is… an animal perhaps? I mean, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch, since this mansion is literally surrounded by a giant forest.”

“Hmmm…” the doctor said, “How strange.”

After quickly wrapping a bandage around Hajime’s throat, the doctor bent down towards the floor and gathered his belongings. 

“Well,” he started saying, “Looks like my work here is done. There doesn’t appear to be any more problems, other than his cuts, him being unresponsive, and that strange mark on his neck. All I can recommend now is that you continue to live your lives normally. I’ll return to check up on him the next day.”

With that, the doctor tipped his hat to the butler and left the room, passing by Izuru who was still standing outside the door.

The butler was left in deep thought, warily eyeing down at the bandage wrapped around Hajime’s neck.

For the rest of the day, Hajime ended up bedridden, while servants would occasionally enter the room to serve him food and Izuru would often enter the room to try and interact with his brother and cheer him up.

The next day, the doctor came in to check on Hajime, just as he said.

What the doctor found out that day was that Hajime appeared to be crippled all of a sudden.

The doctor suspected that this might have something to do with the possible trauma that Hajime has endured. 

Ever since that day, Hajime had to be pushed around in a wheelchair for several years.

Throughout those years, Izuru spent every second of his days with Hajime. 

Izuru tried everything he could to make Hajime smile and cheer up. From playing games, to having conversations, to reading storybooks, to entertainment. Entertainment such as, performing beautiful piano pieces for his brother. But nothing seemed to have gotten a reaction out of Hajime. All Hajime did was give that same dead eyed look with no emotion anywhere on his face. 

Whenever the boys had to eat, everyone noticed how Hajime seemed to give a slight look of discomfort at the food in front of him and didn’t even bother to move his hand in order to pick up a utensil and feed himself. Therefore, a guilty Izuru had to force feed him from time to time.

7 years go by, and Hajime was now 17 while Izuru was 16.

Hajime still remained in a wheelchair; unresponsive and emotionless.

After reading one of Izuru’s favorite novels to Hajime one night, Izuru slowly shut the book with a sigh through his nose.

“Ah!” Izuru whispered, with a small wince.

Izuru looked down at his hand and noticed a small paper cut on his finger.

“Ah darn…” he said, “Just got a stupid papercut.”

Izuru stood up from the chair that had been placed right beside Hajime’s bed, and set the book down onto the bedside table, before climbing into bed with his brother.

Izuru sighed again, as he tried to get comfortable.

Izuru laid on his side, eyes met with Hajime’s.

As Hajime gave Izuru a long deadpan stare, Izuru gave a loving smirk and started to gently caress Hajime’s cheek with the same hand that had a bleeding finger from the previous paper cut.

“We’ll be alright.” Izuru said in a calm and reassuring tone, “Everything will be alright. And I promise that I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Izuru then started to stroke his brother’s hair.

“Because... I’ll do whatever it takes to protect and take care of my older brother.” Izuru said, “And I’ll never leave your side. I’ll always be with you and give you comfort when you need it.”

With this, Izuru kissed Hajime’s forehead and continued to stroke Hajime’s hair until he fell asleep.

The next day, Izuru slowly woke up and yawned before rubbing his eyes.

Izuru sat up from Hajime’s bed and glanced at the window of the room’s balcony, seeing that a ray of sunlight was illuminating the room.

Izuru yawned again and turned to look down at his brother laying with his eyes closed beside him.

Izuru smirked and gave his brother a gentle nudge.

“Wake up Hajime.” he said, “We should start getting ready for the day.”

Hajime didn’t move or respond.

“Hm…” Izuru said, “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to let you sleep for a little while longer. I’ll come back to wake you up once I freshen up.”

Izuru then climbed out of bed and started to freshen up for the day.

After freshening up and getting dressed, Izuru returned to his brother’s bed, and still found Hajime in the same position as before.

Izuru sighed and set both hands onto his hips.

“Alright, I’m afraid that I’ll have to wake you up myself after all.” he said, “Come on now.”

Izuru gave another gentle nudge but again, Hajime gave no reaction or movement.

Izuru then fell to his knees and gave Hajime another nudge.

Nothing.

“Hm.” Izuru said, “Are you a heavy sleeper all of a sudden?” he then teased.

Izuru began to repeatedly nudge and tap on Hajime’s shoulder, but no matter how many times he tried or how much force he put into his shoving… Hajime gave no reaction whatsoever.

Now Izuru was starting to get concerned.

“Ha- Hajime…?” he said, in a slightly nervous tone.

Just to be sure, Izuru slowly glanced down at Hajime’s chest before lowering his head towards that area.

Izuru waited to hear a heartbeat, but…

“No…” Izuru said, sounding devastated, “No… no… no… no, this-... this can’t happen. You can’t- I-...”

Izuru’s heart was beating fast. Izuru was trembling like crazy. Izuru shed tears with a look of despair and horror in his eyes.

That’s when he let out the loudest cry ever.

Soon the butler, along with many maids and servants following behind him burst through the bedroom door to see Izuru bawling as he cradled Hajime in his arms.

Immediately, everyone got the hint and started covering their mouths while quietly shedding their own tears.

Slowly, the butler walked up behind Izuru, and hovered a hand over Hajime.

Izuru caught sight of this and smacked the butler’s hand away.

The butler was taken aback.

“I- Izuru…” he said, “I-... I understand the despair you’re going through right now. But if we want Hajime to… rest peacefully, we have no choice but to-”

“NO!!!” Izuru snapped, with a look of grief and fury mixed together, “NO!!! HE’S NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!!! WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN TOGETHER!!!!! WE BOTH PROMISED EACH OTHER THAT WE’D NEVER LEAVE EACH OTHER’S SIDE!!!!!”

“Izuru, I’m sorry, but we need to take-”

“DIDN’T YOU HEAR ME YOU BASTARD?!!!” Izuru shouted, “HE’S NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!!!! I WON’T LET HIM GO!!!!! HE’S STAYING HERE WITH ME!!!!!! NO ONE WILL EVER TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME!!!!!”

The butler tried to lay a hand on Izuru’s shoulder to calm him down, but Izuru slapped his hand away again.

“GET OUT!!!” he shouted, “GET OUT, YOU HEAR ME?!!!! GET THE HELL OUT!!!!!! ALL OF YOU!!!!!!!!!”

Izuru then started to break down into even more tears.

“All of you…” he said quietly, his voice breaking, “Just leave… just leave…”


	5. A New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ‘Ultimate Dumbass’ finally makes an appearance (lol).

A few weeks later, everyone in the mansion was packing up their luggage and gathering everything within the building. Izuru was also packing up his own luggage, but for different reasons.  
The couple who adopted Izuru and his brother years ago, eventually decided to move to a different location. Izuru however, decided that he would stay back and continue to live within the village. Izuru wished to remain in the same place his brother had peacefully slept. And he did not want to live alone since that would just make him even more depressed than he already has been, so he decided to arrange things with his foster parents and a family friend of theirs. That family friend being a young professor who lived in a large house downtown.

Izuru gathered what was left of his belongings, and let out a large sigh as he started heading out of his bedroom door with the suitcases in both hands.

Izuru reached the top of the staircase when the butler entered the front door of the mansion, brushing his hands off.

The butler spotted Izuru standing at the top of the stairs and folded his hands behind him.

“Thank you for bringing the rest of my luggage out to the carriage.” Izuru said as he proceeded to walk down the stairs.

The butler silently bowed his head in response.

Izuru approached the bottom of the staircase, and stared longingly at the butler before sighing and giving off a guilty facial expression.

“Listen, I…” he began to say, “I’m… sorry for deciding not to come with you guys. I- I really do feel bad about it since… you guys cared so much for both me and…”

Izuru paused, stopping himself before he said the name of his late brother before continuing to speak.

“Well,” he said, “I reckon that you all understand why I made the choice that I did…”  
The butler shook his head and smirked. Although the smirk looked a bit forced.

“Izuru…” he said, “Of course we understand. You’re old enough to make your own choices.”

The butler then set both hands onto Izuru’s shoulders.

“And there’s absolutely no need for you to feel guilty at all.” he said, while shaking his head again, “There’s nothing and no one stopping you from choosing your own path and choosing what you feel is right for you. Know that just as long as you're happy… all of us will support you in your decisions.”

Izuru forced his own smirk, before giving the butler a quick hug.

“Thank you for everything…” he said.

Izuru pulled away from the hug and nodded.

“Well,” he said, “I’m off. Farewell.”

With this, Izuru walked past the butler and out of the mansion.

The butler watched as Izuru left the mansion, walked towards the carriage, loaded the carriage with the last of his luggage and stepped into the carriage before it took off to Izuru’s new home.

Izuru was quiet the entire ride to the young professor’s residence.

Izuru stared longingly out the carriage window, with a depressed look on his face.

Izuru was now the one who felt nothing but emptiness. Ever since Hajime’s passing, Izuru’s world changed forever. His world turned black and white.

Suddenly the next thing he knew, Izuru had already arrived at his new home.

Izuru took a quick look at the house before the footman let him step out of the carriage.

The second Izuru took one step onto the cobblestone ground, the front door swung open, which made Izuru flinch.

A short young man in a suit and a top hat proudly stood in the doorway with his arms spread out.

“Izuru Kamukura!” the young man said with a big smile on his face and excitement in his voice, “Welcome to our household! We are so delighted to have you move in with us!”

“Uh, ye- yes, I’m…” Izuru said, still startled by the sudden appearance of this eccentric young man, “I’m… glad that you have… allowed me into your home.”

“Why of course!” the young man said, while striding over to Izuru, “And again, the pleasure is all ours. I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time here.”

The young man held his hand out for Izuru to slowly grab and shake it.

“Allow me to introduce myself.” the young man said, before clearing his throat, “I’m Makoto Naegi. I work as a professor in this town.”

Izuru slowly nodded as if to say “Okay, that’s nice…”

“And she isn’t here at the moment, but…” Makoto said as he threw his thumb back at the house, “My girlfriend, Kyoko Kirigiri works as a detective around here. She’s currently investigating a certain crime scene that took place a few towns over.”

The mention of a crime scene seemed to have sparked Izuru’s interest.

“Is that so?” he said, “Just… out of curiosity… what exactly took place?”

Makoto shrugged as he turned away from Izuru and headed towards the front door.

“I don’t know much about it to be honest with you.” he said, “All I’ve been told, at least by her, was that this specific crime was awfully similar to the previous crimes she’s investigated lately.”

“What do you mean?” Izuru questioned.

At this point, both of the men had entered the house.

“Well…” Makoto said, scratching the back of his head, “You see… she’s been telling me about these chain of crimes that all took place during nighttime, and all the victims of these crimes appeared to have the exact same wound on them.”

“A wound you say…?” Izuru said, “What kind of wound?”

Makoto turned to face Izuru, and tapped two fingers on the side of his neck.

“Two small holes in their neck that made it look as if something had been pierced through their skin.” Makoto explained, “These marks were always found in the exact same body part, and as far as I’m concerned, she has yet to figure out what exactly had happened.”

As Makoto turned away again, Izuru's eyes widened.

The mention of those strange wounds made Izuru think back to when he found the same marks on his brother’s neck when he found him bleeding on the floor. Back then he noticed the marks, but didn’t think much of it as he was in a severe panic and was rushing to get someone to help Hajime.

“IZURU!!” Makoto hollered from another room.

Izuru snapped back into reality and walked towards the room that Makoto’s voice came from.

Izuru entered what looked to be the living room, complete with a large fireplace, big windows, a giant bookcase covering one of the walls, and four velvet couches placed in a circular formation right at the center of the room.

Izuru saw Makoto sitting on the couch where the fireplace was right behind it.

Makoto crosses his legs while a maid approaches him with a tray of tea and pastries.

Makoto smiled and gestured to Izuru.

“Come, sit.” he said, “Have some tea and pastries with me.”

As Izuru slowly walked over to the same couch Makoto sat in, the maid had already finished pouring two cups of tea.

“Thank you Kirumi.” Makoto said with a nod as he picked up his teacup.

The maid nodded with a small smirk on her face, before turning away and leaving the room.

Makoto grabbed the second teacup and handed it to Izuru.

“Uh, thank you.” Izuru said, reluctantly taking the teacup from Makoto’s hand.

Makoto sipped his tea before turning his attention back to Izuru.

“Kirumi makes the best tea and pastries.” he said, “Once you taste her pas-... well, pretty much anything that she makes, it’s like heaven in your mouth!”

Izuru nodded, not knowing how to respond to this statement.

“Ooh! I almost forgot to mention,” Makoto said suddenly, “I’ve arranged a gathering for this afternoon. A celebration to be exact.”

“Celebration?” Izuru said, “For… what?”

“Why your arrival of course!” Makoto said, “I thought it’d be nice to have a party that celebrates our new member of this household. I also thought it would… make you feel happy and welcomed. Since you appear to be… not too content at the moment.”

Izuru was thrown off guard by the fact that Makoto could suddenly read his facial expression and notice his true feelings. 

Makoto was suddenly giving off a serious look.

“It must be about your brother…” he guessed, “I’ve heard about his recent passing. Hajime, was it?”

Izuru sighed, and gave a somber nod while staring down at the floor.

Makoto silently gave a sympathetic stare towards Izuru, before letting out a big sigh.

“Izuru…” Makoto said, “I apologize that you had to go through with this. Especially after losing both of your parents when you two were very young. No one deserves to go through with that much despair.”

Izuru remained silent, and continued to sadly stare down at the carpet.

“Izuru, if I had the ability to turn back time I would do just that.” Makoto said with a nod, “But unfortunately nothing works that way. All we can do now is… is try to think happy thoughts. Happy thoughts specifically correlating with the memories of your brother. I’m sure he would’ve wanted you to have a smile on your face, just like he always did.”

Izuru sighed and leaned back into the couch, still cradling the tea cup that remained full in both of his hands.

“Say Izuru…” Makoto said, scooting closer to him, “Why don’t you recount those pleasant memories of you and your brother? Why don’t we talk about him? Why don’t you tell me some amusing stories where he’s included? What was he like exactly?”

Izuru finally gave eye contact to Makoto, who was leaning his fist into his cheek.

Izuru then smirked at the thought of his brother and turned his head away towards a nearby window.

Izuru began to talk about Hajime, as he watched the bright orange autumn leaves fly off of the trees.

“When we were children…” Izuru said, “He always wore a bright smile on his face. He was always very cheerful and energetic to the point where it would often get a bit overwhelming for me.”

Makoto smirked at that sentence while Izuru continued.

“He loved to play games and eat sweets.” Izuru said, “He even made sure that I was included and made sure that I was happy. He was a very sweet boy, always considerate of others. After our parents passed away, he tried to lighten up the mood by acting happy often, but I told him there was no need for that and that he should stay true to his emotions. He always thought about how other people felt and tried everything in his power to make them smile again.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to protect and take care of my younger brother…”

Izuru gave a short and quiet chuckle.

“He also said that he would do whatever it takes to protect his younger brother.” Izuru said, “And I was forever grateful for his caring and affectionate side. He was pretty much… my emotional support person who never left my side.”

Izuru’s smirk suddenly faded away.

“Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep that promise.” he said.

“No, that’s wrong.” Makoto suddenly said.

Izuru turned his attention to Makoto as Makoto slowly laid a hand onto Izuru’s.

“Even if he’s no longer here physically…” Makoto said, “He’ll never leave your side in spirit. I know that sounds cheesy as hell, but it’s true.”

Izuru gave a weak smirk, and slowly nodded.

“I suppose so.” he said.

Makoto took his hand off of Izuru’s and leaned away from him.

“Your brother sounds like a wonderful person to be around.” Makoto said, “If only I’d met him myself.”

Izuru gave a soft chuckle.

“Yes…” Izuru said with a nod, “He most definitely was a wonderful person.”


	6. The Pit of Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the afternoon of the party, and Izuru seems to be doing nothing but stay in the same exact spot for several hours. That is until... he suddenly disappears out of nowhere. And this deeply concerns Makoto.

Makoto invited many of his friends to the party that afternoon. Many guests of the party had approached Izuru, trying to build conversations with him, but all Izuru did was give short answers to their questions and leave the conversation at that. Izuru was also standing in the corner of the living room for the majority of the party, not moving a muscle.

While Makoto and Kyoko were interacting with their guests, chatting, laughing with them, making sure they were having a good time, Makoto would occasionally check on Izuru.

Every single time Makoto did check in on Izuru, the whole reason why this party was happening, he always found him in the exact same spot doing absolutely nothing. Izuru might as well have been a statue in that room. 

The longer Makoto found Izuru standing there silently, the more concerned he grew.

At some point during the party, Kyoko noticed this and gently laid a hand onto her boyfriend’s shoulder.

Makoto turned his head to Kyoko and watched as she gave a nod and mouthed “Are you okay?”

Makoto sighed and gave a smirk to Kyoko, although Kyoko could already tell that it was forced with her being a detective and all.

“Yeah.” he mouthed back.

Makoto then glanced behind him, looking back at the living room and made another excuse to leave the current conversation he was having with his friends.

“E- excuse me Byakuya.” he said, “I- I just… have to go… get a drink.”

Makoto was in fact holding an empty glass in his hand, which made it the perfect excuse for him to leave.

As Byakuya continued talking, Kyoko glanced behind her and watched her boyfriend leave the room, already knowing that he was just going to check on Izuru once again.

Makoto entered the living room again but to his surprise… Izuru was no longer hibernating in the corner.

Makoto then stepped out of the room, when he suddenly bumped into one of his maids while turning to go search for Izuru.

“Oh! Excuse me! I’m so sorry!” Makoto said.

Kirumi nodded as if to say “It’s alright.”

“Uh hey, while you’re here…” Makoto said, “Do you happen to know where Izuru went?”

Immediately, Kirumi glanced up at the staircase beside them and pointed towards it.

“I believe I saw him go that way, sir.” she said.

“Thank you.” Makoto said, before running up the staircase.

Makoto was lucky enough to have found Izuru in the very first room he searched in.

Makoto found Izuru lying on his bed with his back against the mattress, his feet dangling from the bed.

Izuru was also holding a book above his face, silently reading the pages.

Makoto sighed, as he slowly walked into the room.

“Izuru…?” he said, “Wh- why are you up here? Shouldn’t you be downstairs with all of the guests? Everyone’s been wanting to get to know you.”

Izuru turned his head to look up at Makoto who stood at the foot of his bed.

“I’m sorry Mr. Naegi…” he said in a depressed tone, “I just can’t bring myself to stay down there any longer. Or interact with anyone for that matter.”

“But…” Makoto said, “We prepared all of this for you.”

“Yes, I know that.” Izuru said, turning his attention back to the book, “Which is why I stayed down there longer than I wanted to. I thought I could fight the urge to go sulk in my room, but… alas… depression won me over.”

Makoto gave a sympathetic look towards Izuru, conflicted on whether or not he should leave Izuru or convince him to join the party again.

“Mr. Naegi.” Izuru suddenly said, catching Makoto off guard, “I appreciate that you took the time out of your party to follow me up here and try to console me, but… I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do. Thank you… but please just… leave me be.”

As he said ‘leave me be’ Izuru laid the book on top of his face and dropped his arms onto the bed.

“W- well…” Makoto started saying, “Would you… by any chance.... want me or someone to stay here and keep you company at least?”

Suddenly a gentle knock came at the half opened door.

“Makoto.” Kyoko said, “A word please?”

Makoto glanced back and forth between Kyoko and Izuru, before slowly making his way out of the bedroom.

Kyoko closed the door as the two of them stood right outside of Izuru’s room, and crossed her arms.

“What is it?” Makoto said with a puzzled look on his face.

Kyoko was giving off the look of a disappointed mother.

“Makoto…” she said again, this time sounding as if he was in deep trouble, “I understand that you only want to make him happy and keep him satisfied. And I understand the hard work that you put in to make him feel comfortable and welcomed here. But I think it’s best that you just do as he says and leave him be. At least for the time being.”

“But Kyoko, I can’t just leave him alone like that.” Makoto said, gesturing to the door behind her, “Isn’t that a bad idea? Isn’t that something to be concerned about? No depressed person should ever be left alone. Don’t you think it’s best for someone to keep depressed people company?”

“Makoto, if he’s not ready for an interaction don’t force him to talk to you.” Kyoko said, while shaking her head, “Yes, people who are sad should have someone consoling them, but sometimes it’s just best to leave them alone for awhile.” 

“I-... well-”

“He just lost his brother weeks ago.” 

The sudden mention of Izuru’s dead brother made Makoto’s heart sink.

Kyoko sighed and set a hand onto Makoto’s shoulder.

Makoto’s eyes met with the light purple hues in Kyoko’s, as Kyoko gave a gentle smirk.

“You’re the most considerate and charitable man I know.” she said, “You always want nothing but to put a smile on people’s faces. And I know that it’ll be hard for you to leave someone alone when you know that they’re hurting, but… just give him some time to adjust. And who knows? Maybe he’ll choose to come join us himself on his own time.”

Makoto glanced at the door before letting out a defeated sigh.

“Maybe you’re right.” he said.

“Of course I am.” Kyoko said.

Kyoko gave Makoto a peck on the cheek before turning away and walking towards the staircase.

“Now let us join our friends…” she said, “They were wondering why it’s taken you so long to… retrieve your drink.”

“Yes, I’ll be right there.”

As Kyoko made her way down the staircase, Makoto took one last look at the door to Izuru’s room before heading downstairs himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that these chapters are starting to seem a bit short! Things will get interesting soon! Don't worry :)


	7. Empty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuru is depressed and hasn't interacted with anyone since the day he arrived at the household. He hasn't even bothered to feed himself. Eventually, Kyoko decides to have a pep talk with Izuru and suggests that he go visit Hajime in his coffin. Izuru decides to go to the church to 'talk' to Hajime when suddenly... something very strange unfolds.

Unfortunately, Izuru never did end up coming downstairs and only ended up falling asleep for the rest of the night. 

Weeks began to go by as Izuru rarely left his bedroom.

Izuru would occasionally leave for just a brief moment, but the majority of the time, he stayed cooped up in his own room.

The only times he would leave was to retrieve a book from the library room.

Even when Makoto and Kyoko requested their maids that they bring Izuru some food, Izuru wouldn’t bother to open the door, and couldn’t bring himself to leave his bed that often.

Over time, Izuru started getting bags under his eyes from many sleepless nights. Nights that were usually wasted by tears and quiet sobbing. He was too depressed and devastated by the death of his brother, that eating didn’t even cross his mind. 

Whenever he wasn’t getting a book from the library, Izuru just remained silent, lying motionless on his bed, with a blank facial expression, baggy eyes, dry tear streaks, and an empty stomach.

One night, when Izuru had walked out of his room to go down to the library, Kyoko was also on her way to find a good novel for herself.

Izuru quietly entered the room and searched through the bookcase, while Kyoko quietly approached the doorframe and stood there, watching him examine the bookshelves.

After about a minute, Kyoko finally took a step into the room and said something.

“I see that you’re up again.” she said.

Izuru flinched and almost dropped a book that he had just pulled out from one of the shelves.

“Oh, uh, M- Miss. Kirigiri!” Izuru said, “Wh- what a surprise…”

“Oh I’m sorry, did I frighten you?” Kyoko said as she walked up to him, “I apologize. That was not my intention.”

“Th- that’s alright…” Izuru said, holding the book close to his chest, “Uh… I- I’ll… I’ll be taking my leave now.”

Izuru walked past Kyoko and had only reached a few inches away from the door before Kyoko suddenly stopped him.

“Now wait right there.” Kyoko said, “You need to eat something. Why don’t I find some pastries for you in the kitchen? It’ll be a quick enough snack.”

“I- I’m not… I’m not hungry…” Izuru lied.

Suddenly Izuru’s stomach growled loud enough for Kyoko to hear it.

“Well your stomach says otherwise.” she said, “Come, sit down. We’ll have a quick chat while we’re both alone in the same room.”

After gathering some pastries and tea, Kyoko and Izuru sat in couches right across from each other.

Kyoko made sure that Izuru was actually eating the pastries off of the table as she spoke.

“So,” she said, “I’ve been meaning to ask you this question for a while now, but I haven’t gotten the chance to. Simply because of my work getting in the way of things.”

Kyoko sipped her tea before she continued to speak.

“Izuru, why have you been starving yourself lately?” she asked.

“S- starving myself?”

“You’ve gotten skinnier since the first time you came here.” Kyoko pointed out, “I have my suspicions that it has something to do with you mourning the loss of your brother, but it is dangerous to not eat anything for a long period of time. You may continue to mourn as you wish, but just don’t harm yourself in the process. Hajime wouldn’t want to see you put your health in danger, right?”

Izuru looked ashamed as he held onto his teacup with a tighter grip.

“Izuru it’s alright if you want to have time to yourself.” Kyoko said, “But if you just continue to isolate yourself and shut everyone out for several weeks-”

“I’m sorry.” Izuru suddenly said, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t talk to anyone. I’m sorry that I shut you out. I understand that both you and Mr. Naegi only want what’s best for me. But my mind is just clouded in so much despair and I can’t think of anything else but my brother’s tragic demise. I can’t even think about food or going outside. The despair is so strong that I can't do anything but cry myself to sleep or just stay awake in my bed all night.”

Izuru sighed.

“I’d give anything to speak with him again.” Izuru said, “It’d be nice to see that cheerful expression on his face. Even if it’s just for one moment.”

This suddenly gave Kyoko an idea.

“Perhaps you can speak to him.” she said.

Izuru lifted his head to look straight at Kyoko with confusion in his eyes.

“Go to the church where his coffin is.” Kyoko said, “Go speak to him there. It might just make you feel better. It’ll feel as if he’s present and you’re just having a casual conversation with him.”

Izuru thought about this for a moment, before nodding and setting his tea cup down on the table in front of him.

“Alright.” he said, as he stood up from the couch, “Then I’ll do just that. It’ll only be for a moment.”

“Take as much time as you need.” Kyoko said, “I’ll also tell Makoto where you went off to.”

“Thank you Miss. Kirigiri.” Izuru said with another nod, before walking out of the library room.

After hearing the front door open and close, Kyoko proceeded to drink her tea.

Izuru ventured out to the church on foot.

When Izuru finally reached the front door of the church, he slowly opened the giant doors and left them open as he approached the closed coffin in the middle of the room.

When Izuru stood over the coffin he read the golden nameplate that had his brother’s first and last name on it.

Izuru sighed through his nose and sat down on his knees.

Izuru folded his hands together and held them up to his lips as he lowered his head and closed his eyes.

“Hajime,” he said, “I- it’s your brother, Izuru. Our foster parents decided to move away a few weeks after your passing. But I decided to stay back with you. I didn’t want to leave you behind, so I decided to move in with two new people who lived in this village. One of them is a very hospitable professor who goes by the name Makoto Naegi and the other happens to be his girlfriend who’s a detective. Her name is Kyoko Kirigiri. They’re both very kind to me and try their best to keep me happy since they know how distraught and devastated I am about your death. I was so depressed that I either cried myself to sleep or just couldn’t sleep at all. I’ve isolated myself in my bedroom without saying a word to anyone. All because I couldn’t get you out of my head. All I could ever think about was you and wishing that you never left me. If only I could’ve been able to save you from your sickness. If only I could’ve done something. You’ve done so much for me and I couldn’t do anything for you when you needed me most.”

A single tear trickled down Izuru’s cheek.

“If only I could see you again.” he said, “I can’t bear to live without you helping me and keeping me company. I can’t bear to live without you comforting me. I want to play games with you, I want to read ‘The Curse of the Witching Hour’ our favorite storybook, I want us to gorge ourselves on sweets, I want us to… I want us to snuggle together.”

As he listed everything that he wanted to do with his brother, a montage of memories started playing in his head. Memories of the two of them doing these exact things.

“If…” Izuru said, letting another tear fall from his eye, “If only I could switch places with you, Hajime. If that were possible, I would give anything to do just that.”

With this, Izuru opened his eyes and laid a hand on top of Hajime’s coffin.

Izuru smirked, and stood up on his feet, before turning away and walking towards the door to the church.

Izuru only took 5 steps away from the coffin, when he suddenly heard a knock.

Izuru turned around to face the coffin, with a puzzled look on his face.

Suddenly the knock was heard again, and… it seemed to be coming from… inside the coffin?

Izuru stared at the coffin as frantic knocking noises were coming from inside of it.

Izuru gave a wary eyed look as he slowly started taking a few steps backwards.

Izuru jumped and gasped, once the coffin tipped over and fell onto the floor with the lid swinging open.

Once the lid did swing open, Hajime’s body tumbled out of the coffin and onto the marble floor.

The body was motionless at first, when all of a sudden… Hajime groaned and slowly started to pick himself up off of the ground.

Izuru’s eyes widened with fear, his heart racing as his brother, who he believed to be dead, was standing up right before his eyes.

Hajime finally stood up on his feet and gave a look of surprise when he saw Izuru standing in front of him.

Izuru gasped quietly when he immediately noticed something different about Hajime.

Hajime eyes were now red instead of hazel, his skin was a bit paler than usual, and… he had razor sharp fangs all of a sudden.

Izuru started shivering, as Hajime tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“Izuru…?” he said, “What’s going on? Why do you look as if you’ve seen a ghost?”

As a response, Izuru screamed at the top of his lungs and bolted out of the church.


	8. This Isn't Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brothers are confused as hell, and try to get to the bottom of what exactly happened to Hajime.

As Izuru ran away from the church, he took one quick glance behind him, when suddenly, he trampled over his feet and tumbled down the hill that the church sat on top of.

Izuru groaned and rubbed the back of his head, before glancing up at the hill to see Hajime standing there and staring down at him.

Izuru gasped, and scrambled to get back on his feet and run again.

Izuru ran as fast as he could through the forest that was on the way back to Makoto and Kyoko’s house.

Izuru shoved tree branches and vines out of the way as he ran in a deep panic, never looking back.

“No, no… this is not happening…” Izuru told himself as he ran through the forest, “This can’t be happening. I- it’s impossible! This is all impossible!”

“IZURU!!!!” Hajime’s voice echoed through the forest as he called out from a distance, “IZURU!!!! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?!!! WHAT’S GOING ON?!!!!”

“S- stay… STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!!” Izuru hollered back.

Suddenly, Izuru tripped on the root of a tree that stuck out from the ground and fell face first.

Izuru groaned and grunted as he picked himself up off the ground and spat out dirt from the ground.

Izuru also felt a small drop of blood trickle down from his nostril, but he didn’t care and just desperately kept on running.

“IZURU COME BACK!!!!!!” Hajime called out, “COME BACK!!!!!”

Suddenly, Izuru’s head was yanked backwards when some of his hair was caught and tangled on a wooden log that Izuru had just leaped over.

“Agh! Damn it! Damn it!!” Izuru whispered to himself, as he turned to the log and tried to yank his hair away from it.

Izuru honestly liked his long luscious hair that went down to his ankles and draped over his face. Although… these were one of those instances where he wished that his hair wasn’t so long.

“IZURU?!!!!”

“Fuck!” Izuru whispered, frantically trying to disentangle his hair.

Izuru pulled and pulled with all of his strength when suddenly, he was flung backwards and fell hard on his back.

Izuru groaned once more, having this being the third time he has fallen and injured himself, and sat up to rub his back.

Izuru looked up and gasped to see Hajime standing before him.

Izuru saw that when he had noticed Hajime being there, Hajime was just in the process of standing up straight, after leaning down over the log. Judging from that action, Izuru assumed that it was Hajime who had finally caught up with him and helped him disentangle his hair.

Izuru quickly started to scoot backwards as he fearfully stared up at Hajime. Sweat was beginning to drip down his temples.

Izuru breathed heavily as Hajime stepped over the log and walked towards him.

He then crouched down to meet Izuru’s current eye level.

“Hey…” he said, “Why are you acting so terrified? What exactly has gotten into you all of a sudden?”

Izuru stared at Hajime for a moment and slowly started to calm down his heavy breaths as he noticed how genuinely confused his brother was.

Well, perhaps that made the two of them.

Izuru stared into Hajime’s red eyes, and suddenly noticed that despite the change in eye color, Hajime’s eyes were still the innocent and comforting eyes that Izuru was familiar with.

“Ha- Hajime…” he said in shaky breaths, “Ye-... you’re… you’re a- alive…”

Hajime raised an eyebrow.

“Alive?” he said, “What on earth are you talking about?”

“Ye- you were sick…” Izuru said, “D- don’t you remember that? How you fell and became unconscious in the living room back at our foster parent’s home? It happened during nighttime. I- I came downstairs and found you lying on the floor in your own blood and… ever since that day… you were acting very strange.”

As Hajime quietly continued to listen to Izuru, he began to stand up.

“You never talked again.” Izuru said, “All you did was stare blankly into nothing. You’ve lost all the color in your eyes. And you… you were also crippled and had to be pushed around on a wheelchair. But then you…”

Izuru went silent as his eyes scanned Hajime from head to toe. He was obviously still in utter disbelief that he was about to say this to his now alive brother.

“You… you died.” Izuru said, “Y- you were dead. A- and now… you’re standing before me. As if everything is fine.”

Hajime now had a wary look in his red eyes.

“D- dead…?” Hajime said, “I- I actually… died…? So that would explain why I suddenly woke up in a coffin! But that… that doesn’t make any sense, I-... i- if everyone thought I was dead… then why did I even wake up to begin with? I mean, not only did I die but you also said that I was crippled! So how on earth do I feel completely fine now?! How the hell am I standing on my own two feet?!!”

“So Hajime is just as confused as I am…” Izuru thought to himself.

Izuru slowly lifted his finger to his teeth and lightly tapped a tooth.

“Hajime… can you…” Izuru said as he did this, “Lightly poke your teeth right here?”

Hajime looked puzzled as he copied Izuru’s action and lightly tapped on his fang.

Hajime flinched when he pricked his finger on the tip of his fang, but not enough that blood would be oozing out of his finger.

Hajime also started to use his tongue to carefully touch both tips of his fangs.

Izuru started pointing at his own eyes.

“A- and your eyes…” he said, “Th- they’re not… they’re… red.”

Hajime slowly raised his hand to his cheek and lightly touched his lower eyelid.

All of a sudden Hajime’s face changed from being confused to concerned and scared.

Izuru gasped when Hajime suddenly collapsed onto his knees.

“Hajime!” Izuru said.

Hajime was bent over towards the ground, while tightly grasping onto his chest.

“I’m… I’m…” he said in a fearful tone, “Wh- what happened? What happened to me? Thi- this isn’t me… this isn’t me…”

Izuru laid a hand onto Hajime’s back and gently started to rub it in an attempt to try and calm him down.

“I- it’s alright, it’s alright…” he said, trying to reassure both Hajime and himself, “Th- there’s no need to… panic like this.”

“HOW IS THIS NOT THE TIME TO PANIC?!!” Hajime suddenly snapped when raising his head up to look straight at Izuru, “I FUCKING DIED AND NOW I HAVE FANGS AND SHIT!!! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME?!!! I WASN’T WELL, I WAS CRIPPLED, I GO TO SLEEP, AND THEN THE NEXT THING I KNOW I WAKE UP IN A COFFIN AND I LOOK LIKE THIS!!!! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HE-”

*SLAP*

Suddenly Izuru slapped Hajime across the face, which took Hajime by surprise. Never has Hajime been slapped by his own family member. Or anyone at all for that matter.

Hajime laid a hand over the pink spot on his cheek and stared at Izuru with wide eyes.

He also noticed how Izuru’s hand was shaking right after he had just slapped his own brother.

“I know that you're scared and confused…” Izuru said, “And that makes the two of us. But rather than wasting our time panicking in the middle of a forest at night, I think that the best course of action is for us to just calm down and figure this whole thing out as soon as we can.”

Izuru lowered his hand.

“Have I made myself clear?”

Hajime was genuinely surprised at how fierce Izuru had suddenly become. He’s never seen his younger brother behave like this.

Hajime slowly nodded, still thrown off guard by the fact that his little brother just bitch slapped him across the face.

Izuru sighed.

“Sorry for the sudden slap.” he said, “Now as for figuring this whole thing out… we should probably go back to the professor and the detective’s home. They’re smart so there’s a good chance that they might be able to give us some ideas.”

Izuru finally stood up on his feet, brushed off the dirt and leaves from his clothes and reached his hand down to Hajime.

Hajime took Izuru’s hand and was helped up to his own feet.

With this, the boys both walked out of the forest and made their way to Makoto’s house, while holding each other’s hand.


	9. The Next Course of Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime, Izuru, Kyoko, and Makoto all decide to go to Toko Fukawa's book store in order to find a specific book that they think might be very useful to them.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!!!” 

Makoto clenched onto his hair with a look of shock and utter disbelief.

Kyoko was sitting on a couch right next to Izuru, as she cleaned the blood off of his nose with a white cloth.

“Hm, interesting…” Kyoko said to Hajime, after folding and putting away her cloth, “So you also had the exact same injury on your neck, just the same as those victims from my investigations.”

“Wha- how can you be so calm about this, Kyoko?!!” Makoto said, “He came back from the dead!! He’s literally just been turned into a vam-”

Kyoko held her hand up to silence Makoto.

“Just a moment, Makoto.” she said in her usual calm tone, “So, just to make things clear; when you two were only children, you Izuru, heard your brother screaming and rushed downstairs to find him and when you did… he was lying in a pool of his own blood. The only injuries he received were some minor cuts and two small holes in his neck. You’ve also brought up the fact that there was shattered glass everywhere, correct?”

Izuru nodded to confirm this.

“So judging from the fact that the window was shattered, I’d have to suspect that an intruder had broken into your home and attacked Hajime.” Kyoko said, “Then when Hajime screamed, they quickly fled the scene before anyone could see them, hence why Izuru only saw Hajime when he entered the room.”

“I- I see…” Izuru said, “S- so someone did break into our house and attack Hajime, huh?”

“That is the only logical explanation.” Kyoko said, as she stood up from the couch and started pacing around the living room, “Anyways, after that incident, Hajime had gone silent and… ‘suddenly had a dead look in his eyes’.”

Izuru nodded again when Kyoko had quoted him.

“You also said that Hajime didn’t seem to be at all satisfied with any of the food he was being served.” Kyoko said, “He reacted to the food in slight disgust so everything had to be force fed to him. And all of these strange and sudden occurrences had happened right after the night that Hajime was attacked.”

Kyoko folded her hands together and held them in front of her mouth with her eyes closed, as if she were praying.

All three boys silently stared at her, until she finally clapped her hands together.

“I see, so not only have we concluded that Hajime has become a vampire,” she said, “But we’ve also concluded that vampires do exist.”

“No way…” Hajime said, “I just… I just can’t accept this. This just can’t be happening! I thought that vampires only existed in ‘The Curse of the Witching Hour’!”

Kyoko tilted her head to the side.

“‘The Curse of the Witching Hour’?” she said.

“Oh, it’s this storybook that we used to read as kids.” Izuru explained, “It was about this boy who had siblings and he suddenly goes silent and becomes sick out of nowhere. Eventually he turns into a vampire and murders his own family.”

“A- and you guys read this story as kids…?” Makoto said.

A thought suddenly occurred to Kyoko.

“How odd.” she said.

“Yeah, it really is odd.” said Makoto, “That book shouldn’t even be read by children to begin with.”

“While I do agree with you on that Makoto, that is not what I was referring to.” Kyoko said, “I’m saying that it’s odd how their story somewhat consociates with the story from that book.”

Both Hajime and Izuru had a look of realization on their faces.

“Oh, so it does…” Izuru said, “I can’t believe that hasn’t even crossed my mind.”

“Anyways, putting that strange coincidence aside,” Kyoko said, “Now knowing that vampires are in fact real has made my investigations a lot more interesting. I personally thought that those injuries might’ve been the doing of an animal but I still knew something was a bit off. All of those strange marks on the victim’s necks were exactly the same and it would’ve been pretty idiosyncratic if it were really just an animal who could somehow make the exact same marks in the exact same body part. Knowing that a vampire had caused the death of all of those victims and attacked Hajime, makes much more sense.”

“W- wait, did you just say that…” Hajime said, “Th- that those victims you’ve been talking about… have actually… died from the thing that attacked and turned me?”

“I’m afraid so.” Kyoko nodded, “You were lucky enough to actually survive and have other people in the house with you. Screaming was a good call on your part.”

A chill went down Hajime’s spine, now knowing how close he was to actual death.

“So what are we supposed to do from here?” Makoto asked.

“I’m thinking we should go visit Toko at her bookstore.” Kyoko said, “Perhaps her store will provide one of those books that tell the reader about mythical creatures and their capabilities. I believe that knowing about the capabilities of a vampire would be very crucial and helpful for this new case.”

Kyoko smirked before turning away.

“I’m glad that we at least got one thing out of the way…” she said as she slowly made her way up the stairs, “Let us gather our coats. And come to think of it, we might need to find a hooded cloak for Hajime. It’s common sense that a vampire can easily burn in sunlight.”

“Aw shit.” Hajime said.

By the time everyone had stepped out of the front door to leave and go to the bookstore, it was early in the morning.

While everyone in the group were wearing coats, Hajime wore a long black cloak with a hood over his head.

As they were walking to the nearby bookstore, Izuru glanced next to him to see Hajime looking rather irritated.

Izuru immediately took the hint that it was because Hajime now had new rules to follow as a vampire.

Once the group entered the downtown area, Kyoko instructed Hajime not to speak to anyone so his fangs wouldn’t show, preventing any possible scene. 

This only made Hajime even more irritated. 

His face pretty much said “Great. Not only can I not step into the sun, but now I gotta be mute? Fucking hell.”

The tiny bell hanging from above the door rang as Kyoko entered the bookstore.

“Hello?” Kyoko said, “Toko?”

“Makoto!” 

A girl with short brown hair and hazel eyes stood up from her chair behind the front desk and waved her arm before hurrying over towards the front door.

The girl headed towards Makoto and threw her arms around him.

“Hi Komaru...” Makoto said, with a small blush as he slowly wrapped his arms around his sister.

“Oh, I’m so happy to see you!” Komaru said, pulling away from the hug, “How have you guys been?”

“W- we’ve been doing just fine, thank you for asking.” Makoto said, glancing back at his group, “Uuuuh- oh! That reminds me, I’ve got to introduce you!”

Makoto turned to face Izuru and Hajime and gestured to his sister.

“Guys, this is my little sister, Komaru.” he said, “Komaru, this is Izuru and his brother Hajime. They… they both decided to move in with me and Kyoko a few weeks ago.”

“Well welcome to our village!” Komaru said while setting both hands onto her hips, “You guys are going to love it here! This village is very cozy and serene.”

“KOMARU!! HELP ME WITH THESE NEW BOOK STACKS!!!” another girl called out from the storage room at the back of the shop, “I CAN’T CARRY ALL OF THESE ON MY OWN!!! IT’S NOT LIKE I HAVE MAGICAL ABILITIES!!!”

“Oh! Sorry about that Toko!” Komaru said, rushing to the back of the room.

As a girl with long and disheveled purple hair walked out of the storage room, Komaru was quick to take a few books off of the large stack that she struggled with.

After sighing with relief, the girl turned her attention to the group standing at the front door and gave a puzzled look.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you guys here.” she said, “And w- who on earth are these guys with you?”

“This is Hajime and Izuru.” Kyoko said, “They moved in with us a few weeks ago.”

“Oh so…” Toko started saying while she set the books down on the front desk, “A- are you implying that… y- you finally decided that you w- wanted to adopt or something? I- is that it? I- if you really wanted to have children wh- why couldn’t you just… m- make the magic happen yourselves?”

Both Makoto and Kyoko blushed, although Makoto’s face was more red than Kyoko’s.

“I- wh- wh- what?!!” Makoto said, “N- n- no, I-... y- you’ve got it all wrong! I-.. th- that’s not-”

“More importantly Toko,” Kyoko said, purposefully brushing off Toko’s teasing, “We wanted to know if your shop provided any books based around mythical creatures.”

“M- mythical creatures?” Toko said, “Wh- why would you want that?”

“I’ll explain later.” Kyoko said, taking a quick glance at Komaru.

“Later?” Toko said, “Wh- why can’t you just tell me now?”

Toko then had a look of realization.

“W- w- wait, I- I get it…” she said while pointing an accusatory finger at Kyoko, “Y- you think I’m stupid, don’t you? Y- you think I’m incapable of understanding anything because I- I’m such a di- disgusting woman! You think I’m some kind of p- pig, don’t you?!! D- don’t even bother trying to sugar coat it! I- I can tell what you’re really thinking! I- I can see through that inexpressive mask of yours!”

An awkward silence fell in the room, when Izuru suddenly spoke up.

“Excuse me, miss…” he said in a calm and flat tone, “But do you have the book or not?”

Toko gave Izuru the stink eye and glanced down at her feet as she moaned.

“Fine.” she said, “I- I’ll get that book for you.”

Toko then turned into the storage room and came back out with a purple book in her hands.

Toko walked up to the group and handed the book to Kyoko.

“Here’s your dumb book.” she said.

“Thank you.” Kyoko said.

Kyoko took one quick glance at Komaru again, before leaning closer to Toko, so she could whisper in her ear.

“We’re using this for a very important case…” she said, “If you’re curious to know more, feel free to come over to our household. We could use all the help we can get. Just don’t bring Komaru with you. It may be too dangerous for her.”

With this, Kyoko turned away and walked out of the shop with the book in her hand.

Makoto was the last one out of the shop and decided to wave ‘goodbye’ to Toko and Komaru, before closing the door behind him.

“What was she talking about, Toko?” Komaru asked.

Toko quickly grabbed some books from the stack on the front desk and shoved them into Komaru’s arms.

“H- here! J- just hurry up and help me organize these!” Toko said.


	10. Vampires 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group learns more about vampires and Toko arrives at the house to find out what everyone is up to.

Once everybody arrived back at the house, everyone immediately headed straight for the library room.

Once everybody reached the library room, Kyoko slammed the book down onto a large long table in the middle of the room and swung the book open to find the table of contents.

Kyoko’s finger slid down the list of contents as she repeatedly mumbled the word ‘vampire’ to herself.

“Ah! Here!” Kyoko said once she found the correct pages.

Everyone circled around the table and leaned in towards the book once Kyoko turned to the correct pages.

Her finger followed each sentence as she read the words out loud.

“Natural born vampires have normal eye colors until they’re eyes glow red when they use their power.” Kyoko read, “On the other hand, when humans are turned into vampires, their eyes become red and stay red. If a human is bitten by a vampire, then the human, depending on how much blood is taken from them, becomes weak. If the human still lives when a vampire takes their blood from them, then the human will start to feel slightly disgusted by normal food due to the lack of blood. Also, if a human had any sort of injury or disabled factor before their vampire transformation, then those injuries and or disabled factors will not carry over when the human is a vampire. A human who is bitten does not become a vampire until they ingest blood.”

“I- wait, hold on…” Hajime said, holding a hand up, “So based off of what this book just said... I somehow… ingested someone’s blood? A- and that’s how I became a vampire? But how would I have-... I- I don’t even remember doing that! Did it just happen by accident and just I didn’t know? I mean the only reason I wouldn’t know is if I swallowed some while I was sleeping or something...”

Kyoko shrugged and proceeded to read the book.

“Once a bitten human ingests blood,” she read, “It will take a few weeks for the fangs and magical abilities to develop. When everything does develop, the human will gain the exact same abilities as a natural born vampire. These abilities include; super speed, flying in the form of a bat, growing claws at their fingertips, immense strength, climbing up walls and ceilings, floating in mid air, and glowing eyes. Another ability that natural born vampires have, and turned vampires don’t develop are... unique abilities.”

“‘Unique abilities’?” Makoto said, “What does that mean?”

“It says here that each vampire has their own unique ability added to the previously listed powers that all vampires have.” Kyoko said, “For example, one vampire may have their own ability to turn invisible, while another vampire may have their own ability to control minds.”

“So are there vampires out there who have these abilities?” Makoto said.

“Who knows really?” Kyoko said, “What’s more important, is that we’ve gathered a lot more knowledge about vampires from this very book.”

“Uh pardon me, but uh…” Hajime started saying, “Does the book… say anything about how to turn a turned human… back into a human?”

“Sorry, can you elaborate on that?” Kyoko said.

“You know… some kind of antidote!” Hajime said, “Something that can turn me back into a human! Does the book say anything about that?”

Kyoko looked back down at the book and started skimming through the pages.

It seemed to take awhile for Kyoko to find the answer when finally, she slammed her hand down onto one of the pages.

“Here it says that there’s said to be a powerful vampire princess who’s royal blood has the unique ability to turn those who were bitten back into humans.” Kyoko said, “There used to be a rumor that this princess lived on a high mountain in the Novoselic kingdom.”

“I’m sorry, the ‘what’ kingdom?” Hajime said.

“Novoselic.” Izuru reminded him.

“So if we were to go there in order to help Hajime…” Makoto said, “How far would that be from where we are now?”

“This book doesn’t say anything about that.” Kyoko said while shaking her head and gesturing to the book, “Our best bet is to go out and find another vampire who might know about this princess.”

“But what if they don’t cooperate?” Izuru pointed out.

“Then we’ll either ask them by force or try to find another vampire to ask.” Kyoko said with a shrug, “What other choices do we have?”

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the front door, which made everyone flinch.

Makoto slowly walked out of the room and reached the front door before slowly opening it.

It was Toko Fukawa who stood at his doorstep.

“Toko?” Makoto said.

“Ye- ye- yeah…?” Toko said, anxiously stroking her purple hair, “Ky- Kyoko told me that I should come so… I- I came. A- and I hope she doesn’t waste any of my time. Y- you guys better be thankful that I went out of my way to temporarily close my own shop and come all the way here.”

Makoto’s eyes shifted to the side.

“Uh yeah… we’re… definitely very thankful that you decided to come here.” he said, “A- anyway, come on in! W- would you like anything to eat or drink?”

“I- I don’t care about that now!” Toko said, “I- I just want to see what you guys are up to already! I- I just want to get whatever weird thing this is over with!”

Makoto held both of his hands up in front of him.

“Alrighty then.” he said, “Right this way.”

Makoto led his friend to the doors of the library room, but right when he put his hand onto the door handle, he turned to face Toko.

“Wh- what now?” Toko said.

“I… just have to let you know one important thing…” Makoto said, “So… remember when I introduced you to Hajime and Izuru? The brothers who moved in with me and Kyoko recently?”

“Oh y- you mean…” Toko said with a slight blush and a tiny smirk, “Y- you and Kyoko’s adopted children? I- I still don’t understand why you two couldn’t have just-”

“ANYWAY!” Makoto said, purposefully cutting off Toko, “Where I’m getting at is… Ha- Hajime has been… turned into… a vampire, not long ago.”

Silence fell between the two, as Toko gave a questioning look at Makoto.

“Wh- what are you saying?” she finally asked, “A- are you nuts or are you just trying to mess with me?”

“It’s neither of those!” Makoto said while shaking his head and hand, “I- I know it may sound unbelievable… but it actually is true! I would never lie to you, Toko.”

“R- right…” Toko said, clearly not believing in anything Makoto has said to her so far, “A- and I take it that… y- you guys won’t l- laugh at me if I actually do end up believing you?”

Makoto sighed.

“Just... come on in and I’ll show you.” he said, as he opened the door.

Everyone turned to face the door, once Makoto opened it, to let Toko Fukawa in.

“Ah, Fukawa,” Kyoko said, “You’ve arrived after all.”

“W- well what did you expect?!” Toko said, “Y- you were the one who called me in after all!”

“Yes, I did.” Kyoko said with a nod, “But I wasn’t sure if you’d actually come, so thank you.”

Toko glanced down at the floor and rubbed her arm.

“Wh- whatever…” she said, “A- anyway, w- where’s that vampire that Makoto was just telling me about?”

Everyone turned their heads to Hajime, and Hajime slowly raised a hand and waved to Toko.

“Uuh…” Hajime said with a nervous smile, showing off his fangs, “Hi…”

Toko gasped when she noticed Hajime himself, with the fangs and red eyes. Her eyes went wide as she took a few steps backwards and hit her back against the door.

All Toko did was breathe heavily and whimper with fear.

“Uh, T- Toko...?” Makoto said, “I- it’s alright, just… please calm down a little…”

“Th- th- there’s…. Th- th- there’s a…” Toko stuttered, “Th- that’s actually…. Th- that’s actually a real…”

Suddenly Toko’s eyes rolled back into her head before she collapsed onto the floor and fainted.

Everyone except for Kyoko gasped.

“Oh my gosh! I- is she alright?!” Hajime said as he covered his mouth.

“Uh, d- don’t worry, she’s just… shocked…” Makoto said, as he glanced down at Toko’s unconscious body, “I- I mean… her reaction was understandable I… can’t really argue with that…”

Makoto then got down on one knee and slowly started to gently poke at Toko’s forearm.

“Uuh… Toko…?” he said as he did this, “He- hello?”

Suddenly, Toko’s eyes shot open before her entire body jolted upwards.

After landing on her feet, both Izuru and Hajime couldn’t believe their eyes.

All of a sudden, Toko’s eyes were red, and her tongue was longer than usual.

“KYEAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!” she laughed, “Why hello hello there! Glad to see you again! How are things going with you two lovebirds, huh?!!”

“Hello Genocide Jack.” Kyoko said calmly, as if this were nothing new.

“Um, excuse me but….. WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!!” Hajime exclaimed.

Genocide Jack turned her attention to Hajime and whipped out a silver pair of scissors before making her way over to him.

“I’m Genocide Jack!” she said, holding her scissors to her side.

She then gave a curtsy to him.

“Nice to meetcha!”

“G- Genocide Jack…?” Hajime said.

“That’s right, sweet cheeks!” Genocide Jack said, flirtatiously, “I suppose you can call me… Toko’s bad side, if you catch my drift...”

Genocide Jack closed her eyes as she smiled and chuckled with her tongue sticking out of her mouth.

“O- okay…” Hajime said, taking a few steps backwards, “I- I still… don’t understand what just happened here.”

“Oh enough talk!” said Genocide Jack, “More importantly, who the hell are you two?!”

“Genocide, these are the two brother’s who moved in with us,” Kyoko chimed in, “The one to your left is Izuru, and the one right in front of you is Hajime, who’s just been turned into vampire.”

“Ooooooooh! A vampire you say?!” said Genocide Jack as she gave another flirtatious look towards Hajime, “That’s soooooooo hot!”

Hajime flinched when Genocide Jack suddenly held the tip of her scissors against his throat, but not enough that it pierced him.

“In fact…” she said in what sounded like a more threatening tone, “It’s so alluring to the point where I feel the sudden urge to cut you…”

“Wh- what?!” Hajime said, “Th- that doesn’t make any sense!”

“It doesn’t need to…” Genocide Jack responded, “That’s just how I function.”

“Uh, Genocide?” Makoto said, “Pl- please… don’t harm Hajime or Izuru. We’re all trying to help them not cause harm to them.”

Genocide Jack hesitated for a moment, before she reluctantly lowered down her scissors.

She then sighed.

“Fiiiiiiiine…” she said, “If that’s what Big Mac wants. Now then, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well, Hajime was just recently turned into a vampire.” Kyoko explained, “And we decided to retrieve a book from Toko, that told us about the powers and capabilities that vampires have. We also found out that there was an antidote that could be found at a high mountain in a place called the Novoselic kingdom.”

“Hmm, I see… I see…” Genocide Jack nodded, with a pondering look on her face, “So where does muah come into play?”

“We thought that it would be useful for you to join us during our travels, to find another vampire to ask about the Novoselic kingdom.” Kyoko said, “We could use your agility and combat skills. As well as your wits.”

“So, would you care to join us?” Makoto said.

“Well, it’s not like I have anything better to do…” said Genocide Jack as she scratched the back of her head, “So hey! Why the hell not?”

“Wonderful.” said Kyoko, “Then let us prepare for our journey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can probably tell that I had so much fun writing quotes for Genocide Jack/Jill lol. I freaking love her so much :)


	11. The Vampire Hunting Grounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group travel to the vampire hunting grounds; a forest where vampires often go to hunt for their prey ;in hopes of finding a vampire who might have knowledge about the Novoselic kingdom.

The group of 5 all rode in a carriage, to get to a village that was closest to a very specific forest. The forest that was said to be a hotspot for many vampires to hunt for their prey.

“So, that… vampire forest that you just read about in that book…” Izuru said, “It said that it was used as a hunting ground for vampires, right? S- so… how do we know if they won’t attack us?”

“We *don’t* know.” Kyoko said, “We’ll just have to try and convince them not to hurt us. If they’re still determined to attack us, then we have to be prepared to think fast and use whatever’s around us as weapons. We also have Genocide Jack, Hajime, and you Izuru. Genocide Jack has great combat skills, and if I remember correctly, you mentioned a few minutes ago, that you were a child prodigy, so you yourself are skilled in both physical combat and combat that requires weapons.”

“But you brought my name up as well?” Hajime said, “Wh- what’s so special about me?”

“Well, you are a vampire now. Are you not?” Kyoko said, “Perhaps you can put your new powers to good use.”

“Wha- a- are you crazy?!” Hajime said, “I- I’m not a fighter at all! A- and I literally JUST became a vampire last night! LAST NIGHT! A- and you expect me to already know what I’m doing?! I wasn’t born with powers! I never had any magical abilities! Hell, I didn’t even know that magic even existed! Ha- how? How on earth am I supposed to know how these new vampire powers work?!”

Kyoko shrugged.

“Perhaps it will just… come to you naturally. And then you’ll know.” she said, “If you can’t figure it out, then we’ve got Genocide and Izuru who are both extremely skilled when it comes to combat.”

Hajime sighed through his nose and nervously started fidgeting with the end of his shirt.

Izuru noticed how anxious his brother looked and decided to lay a hand onto his back as a gesture of reassurance.

Hajime turned his head to Izuru and smirked as a way to say “Thanks”.

“I- I can’t believe that we’re doing something like this…” Toko said, while hugging herself, “Th- this really is ridiculous…”

Toko then shifted her eyes over in Hajime’s direction and gave a skeptical look.

“A- and more importantly…” she started saying, “Ha- how do we know for sure if we can trust this guy?”

“Who?” Makoto asked.

“Th- th- the vampire of course!” Toko said, pointing at Hajime, “Wh- what if he has a sudden urge to s- suck everyone’s blood? He might attack us out of nowhere!”

“What the hell gave you that idea?!” Hajime said, “I would never do anything like that!”

“Ye- yeah, th- that’s what they all say…” Toko said, “Th- the villains always try to gain other people’s trust so they can easily control them like puppets! Th- then when the time comes… th- they strike!”

Izuru suddenly stood up from his seat.

“Are you implying that my brother is a liar?!” he said with a glare, “Also, how dare you call him a villain?!”

“Wh- what? I- I’m only being cautious! N- nothing’s wrong with that!” Toko said, “A- and come to think of it, ha- how do we know that you’re not secretly a vampire?! Ye- you guys are brothers after all! A- and you look incredibly shifty and creepy with that l- long black hair and red eyes of yours…”

“Now listen here you son of a-” Hajime was suddenly interrupted by Kyoko.

“Everyone calm down!” she said, “In situations like this, it’s very important that we all cooperate with one another! Arguing is just a waste of time and energy! So why don’t you all just collect yourselves and relax?”

Hajime, Izuru, and Toko gave each other the stink eye, before Izuru sat back down and all three of them looked away from each other.

Finally, the carriage came to a halt on the side of the cobblestone street, before everyone stepped out of the vehicle.

Kyoko nodded to the man driving the carriage before it left her and her group on the side of the road in a completely different village.

Right when the group of 5 had arrived in the village, Hajime mentally reminded himself not to speak to anyone. At least until they got to the vampire hunting grounds.

Once they reached the forest, the group cautiously walked through it, with their wary eyes watching everything in their surroundings.

Makoto was latched onto Kyoko’s arm with a look of anxiety, while Toko was anxiously biting her fingernails.

Hajime and Izuru had decided to lock arms with one another.

The forest was huge, and the atmosphere was foggy with gray skies.

The ground was covered in what appeared to be endless piles of dead brown leaves that had fallen from all the empty trees.

“S- so a vampire can come and attack us at any moment?” Makoto said, “Sh- shouldn’t we find some sort of weapon around here?”

“Right.” Kyoko said with a nod.

Kyoko suddenly stopped and bent down towards the ground when she spotted a long sharp stick.

She picked it up and inspected it before standing back up and shoving it into Makoto’s hands.

“Here, you can use this.” Kyoko said.

“Wh- what about you?” Makoto said.

“I’ll keep an eye out for another one.” Kyoko said as she continued walking.

The next couple of minutes was silent walking, without any vampire encounters.

“Wow…” Hajime said, “I- I’m surprised that we’ve been lucky enough to not get attacked yet.”

“Yeah, I honestly thought we’d get attacked by now…” said Makoto, “Did this forest use to have a lot of vampires but now it just… doesn’t anymore?”

“I wonder if this place *was* a hunting ground for vampires…” Izuru said, “But then it just became abandoned for whatever reas-”

Suddenly everyone froze when they heard a rustling sound.

“Uuuh…” Makoto said, “Wh- what was that…?”

Suddenly a creepy disembodied giggle echoed through the area.

Everyone started to look and turn in different directions.

“Where did that come from??” Hajime said.

While everyone was looking in their own directions, Izuru glanced down at the ground and spotted some movement under the leaves.

Izuru gasped quietly and tapped Hajime’s forearm with the back of his hand.

“Hey! I saw something moving in those leaves!” he said as he glanced back at Hajime and pointed down at the leaves.

Hajime turned and glanced down at where Izuru was pointing.

“I don’t see any movement.” he said while shaking his head and shrugging.

“Wha-” Izuru turned and gasped quietly again, when he suddenly noticed that there was no more movement to be seen underneath the piles of leaves.

“What?” he said, “Wh- where did it go?”

“Where did *what* go?” Hajime asked, “Did you even see something under those leaves, or was it just the wind?”

Izuru cautiously walked ahead of everyone and bent down towards the ground.

The group started watching Izuru dig through the piles of leaves.

“What on earth is he doing…?” Toko said with an eyebrow raised.

“He said he saw something moving under the leaves…” Hajime said.

“I- I did! I-...” Izuru said, looking back at the group.

“Pfft…” Toko scoffed, “Maybe he’s lying to try and throw us all off.”

Kyoko looked at Toko and gave an “Are you serious?” look.

“N- no! I’m not!” Izuru said, “I- I swear I saw-”

“HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!”

Suddenly, a short purple haired boy appeared out of nowhere, hanging upside down on a high tree branch that was right behind Izuru.

Izuru jumped and walked backwards towards the group.

The boy gave a mischievous smirk and laughed.

“Nishishishi!” he laughed, before folding his hands behind his head, “Awwww, did I scare you that bad? Soooooooorry....”

“Ugh!” Toko said, “Apology NOT accepted!”

“Hey, come on!” the purple haired boy said, “Why the hostility, huh? There’s no need for that.”

“Sh- shut up y- you little twerp!” Toko said, pointing at the upside down boy, “W- we don’t have time to be jumpscared by you! Y- you should apologize for what you just did! S- scaring strangers out of nowhere? Y- you should be ashamed of yourself!”

“Wh- wha?” the purple haired boy said, now giving Toko puppy eyes, “Wh- why must you call me names like that? I- it was just supposed to be played off as a fun little joke. Th- that’s all that it was. Wh- why do you have to be so mean about it?”

All of a sudden, the boy burst into tears.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” he cried, “Look what you did! *hic* You just made an adorable little vampire cry! Y- you’re the one who should be *hic* ashamed of yourself! Y- you and your *hic* rotten heart!”

“So, you *are* a vampire?” Izuru said.

The purple haired boy stopped crying instantly, almost as if his tears were suddenly vaporized, and went back to having a smile on his face.

“Why yes, I am!” said the purple haired boy, “In fact, I’m the most powerful and vicious creature alive! Humans shake in their boots and piss themselves just by the sheer presence of me! And my unique ability is turning invisible, so you’ll neeeeeeeever know if I’m creeping up behind you with the anticipation to strike and rip out your neck so blood would come oozing out and painting every inch of the ground!!”

Everyone went silent with fear as they stared at the boy's sudden change in expression. A wide and sinister smile spread across his face, while his eyes suddenly looked as if they belonged to a bloodthirsty psychopath. The boy then laughed.

“Nishishi!” he laughed, with a now innocent smile spreading across his face, “I’m just kidding! That was a lie.”

“Aaah…” Makoto shuddered, “A- are you sure…? A- are you actually serious…? Ye- you’re not just… lying to us again, r- right…?”

“Of course nooooooot!” the boy said, “I wouldn’t even dream of ripping out human flesh! What do you take me for? Some kind of monster?”

The boy laughed again.

“Aaaah…” he sighed after laughing so hard, “Besides, I only feed off of dead things that were already dead to begin with. Feeding off of live humans or animals is just… not my forte.”

The boy then swung off of the tree branch he was hanging from and landed on his feet before holding out his hand towards the group.

“I’m Kokichi Oma!” the boy said, “Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly didn't feel too confident about this chapter, because I felt that it might've been somewhat rushed... maybe my opinion will change later, who knows? On the other hand, I did have fun writing the back and forth that Kokichi and Toko had, lol. I was just so excited to finally write Kokichi into the story. He's one of my favorite Danganronpa characters overall :)


	12. Distrust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kokichi and Toko have a very amusing interaction with each other, and the group meets Kokichi’s human partner.

No one bothered to shake Kokichi’s hand and only stared at him with suspicion.

Kokichi tilted his head to the side with a puzzled look.

“What? Not gonna shake my hand?” he said, “Come on now, I won’t bite. I told you before, I don’t even bite living people.”

“Y- you definitely have the shifty eyes of a trickster…” Toko commented, “A- a mischievous child at that. Wh- why should we trust you after what you just did?”

“Come oooooooon…” Kokichi said as he held both fists under his chin like a cat, while giving puppy eyes again, “You’re telling me that you wouldn’t trust an adowable wittle ol’ vampire like me? There are people who think I’m the most adorable creature they’ve ever seen!”

“I- is that so?” Toko said, “A- and who would that be?”

“KOKICHI!!”

A new voice suddenly called out the little vampire's name from a distance.

The voice came from behind the group, so the group turned around to see what looked to be the figure of another boy from afar.

Kokichi gasped with excitement and bounced on his toes, before using his super speed to zip past the group and head towards the mystery boy.

“SAIHARA CHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!” Kokichi hollered with pure innocence and excitement in his voice.

“Oh, there you are Koki- oof!!”

Kokichi rammed right into the boy and tackled him to the ground.

The boy groaned as Kokichi pinned him down.

“Kokichi, that hurt…” the boy said.

“Aww, I’m sorry,” Kokichi said, “Want me to kiss your head so you’d feel better?”

The group walked up to the two boys on the ground.

“Who’s this?” Kyoko asked.

Kokichi turned his head up to the group.

“This is the guy who thinks I’m the most adorable creature ever!” he said, “Isn’t that right, Saihara chan?”

“Ye- yes, now can you please get off of me, Kokichi?” the boy said.

“Why of course…” Kokichi said, “Anything for my lovely boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?!” Everyone except for Kyoko, said simultaneously.

Kokichi stood up and folded his hands behind him.

“Yup!” he said, “He’s my one and only true love! The very first time we met, he just swept me off of my feet and I instantly fell head over heels!”

The boy stood up and brushed off his clothing.

“Uh, actually, the first time we met…” he said, “You scared the shit out of me, I ran away, but wherever I went, you just wouldn’t leave me alone and things just started from there.”

“It’s because I was drawn to you, Saihara chan!” Kokichi said as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s forearm, “I couldn’t help it!”

“Look, I’m sorry to interrupt your moment, but…” Kyoko said, “What is your name, sir?”

The boy cleared his throat and tipped his hat to the group.

“I- I’m… Shuichi Saihara.” he said, “N- nice to meet you. A- and sorry if Kokichi had caused you guys any trouble.”

“Well, at least *one* of you has some manners…” Toko said, giving the stink eye to Kokichi.

Kokichi stuck his tongue out at Toko.

“That’s quite alright.” Kyoko said, “Anyways, I notice that you’re a detective yourself. As am I.”

“Wow, r- really?” Shuichi said, with a small bit of excitement in his eyes, “Wh- what a coincidence, I-... th- that's amazing! A- are you guys out here to solve a case or something?”

The reason that Kyoko could easily tell that Shuichi was in fact a fellow detective, was because of the clothes he was wearing.

Shuichi wore a light brown cloak, with a light brown detective cap to go along with it, wore a pair of black gloves, brown pants, and black loafers.

“Why yes, that is correct.” Kyoko said with a nod, “In fact, we came here to find a vampire who might know about a place called the Novoselic kingdom.”

Shuichi held onto his chin, with a pondering look. 

“The Novoselic, huh…?” he pondered.

“Well I hate to break it to ya, but you guys are just wasting your time!” Kokichi said, “This ‘Novoselic’ you’re talking about is just a myth! In other words, it is non-existent!”

“Wh- what?!” Toko said, “A- are you t- telling me that we did waste our time here after all?!! W- we really had no reason to come here?!!”

“Yeah, sorry about that, lady…” Kokichi said with a sly smirk, “Have a safe trip back home!”

Kokichi was just about to turn and leave when Shuichi stopped him.

“Hey wait just a minute, Kokichi.” he said, grabbing onto his wrist, “Why did you lie to these people?”

“Huh? What’s that?” Kokichi said, pretending to act dumbfounded.

“Kokichi, please don’t put on this act now,” Shuichi said, sounding a bit irritated, “These people need our help. They’re trying to solve a case and they need to know this information so they can accomplish their goal. I don’t see any reason for you to hide anything from them.”

“But what if *they’re* the liars?” Kokichi said, yanking his hand away from Shuichi’s, “They’re humans, Saihara chan. We don’t know if we can trust them.”

“Kokichi, I’m also a human…” Shuichi said.

“Well, you’re an exception.” Kokichi said, as he patted his boyfriend’s head, “But in most cases, humans are lying pieces of garbage who can’t always be trusted! Heck, we don’t even *know* these people! How do we know that they aren’t just going to slaughter my species?”

“So this place really does exist…” Izuru said, under his breath.

“We don’t plan on doing anything so gruesome and uncivilized.” Kyoko said, before she held a hand up, “You have our word.”

Kokichi gave a wary eyed look at the group, before turning to look at Shuichi.

Shuichi gave a look to Kokichi, as if to say “Go on. Tell them.”

Kokichi let out a defeated sigh.

“Fine…” he said, “I guess I’ll tell you about that place. What exactly do you want to know?”

“The Novoselic has a princess, correct?” Kyoko said, “A princess who is a vampire nonetheless.”

“Yeah?” Kokichi said, “Princess Sonia.”

“Ah, so Sonia is her name…” Kyoko said, making a mental note, “Now, is it true that her blood has the ability to turn bitten humans back into humans?”

“Yeeeees…?” Kokichi said, now looking skeptical, “Now let me ask *you* a question… how do you know so much?”

“Like I’ve said before, I’m a detective.” Kyoko said with a smirk, “But the reason that we actually know this, is from this book here.”

Kyoko held the book up to Kokichi and Shuichi.

Shuichi seemed to take interest in this book.

“Wow…” he said, staring at the book with curiosity, “There’s an actual book about vampires? How did I never know about this?”

“Where did you get something like that?” Kokichi asked.

“Our friend owns a bookstore and she just so happened to have it.” Kyoko said, gesturing to Toko, “Anyways, please explain to us how the power of your princess’s blood works.”

“Well…” Kokichi said, “It’s her unique ability. If she encounters a bitten human, she’ll use her claw to cut herself so she could give a drop of blood to the bitten human. Once given to them, all the bitten human has to do is swallow the blood and then voila. They’re human again.”

“It’s that easy?” Hajime said, “Wow. What a neat ability.”

“A- alright, b- but…” Toko said, still biting her fingernails, “I- is your p- princess gonna be generous enough to give up some of her blood?”

“Oh please, she’s nothing but generous.” Kokichi said, “She’s the most innocent vampire on the planet! Which is kinda boring if I’m gonna be honest… she never even bites back if someone is mean to her or gives her attitude!”

“Well it’s always good to have some self control.” Kyoko said, “Especially if you’re a princess with some big responsibilities.”

“Uh, hey! I- if you don’t mind, I- I actually have a… proposition to make.” Shuichi suddenly said.

“Oh?” Kyoko said with a look of interest, “And would that be?”

“Yeah Shuichi…” Kokichi said, slowly turning to look up at Shuichi, “What are you trying to say?”

Shuichi took off his hat to reveal his short navy blue hair, before running his fingers through it and putting his hat back on.

“Uum…” Shuichi said, nervously glancing off to the side, “So… ha- how about we team up?”

“Team up?” Toko and Kokichi said in unison.

“Ye- yeah.” Shuichi said, “I mean, you might need a full fledged vampire for vampire knowledge and his powers might come in handy for defense and stuff, a- and it might also be helpful for another detective to-”

“NO WAY!” Toko and Kokichi said simultaneously.

“Look, I love you Saihara chan, but I oppose this idea.” Kokichi said while setting a hand onto Shuichi’s shoulder.

“Ye- yeah, s- same here…” Toko said.

“What? Why?” Shuichi asked.

“I mean, who would want to hang around with a stinky ass pig like this girl?” Kokichi said while pointing over at Toko, “Also, she was incredibly rude to me earlier.”

Toko growled as she glared at Kokichi.

“A- asshole…” she said, under her breath.

“Hey now…” Shuichi said, “Let’s not let this rivalry get in the way of us helping these guys. If anything, you two might get along the longer we spend time with this group.”

Both Kokichi and Toko gave a look of disgust at one another.

“Ew.” Kokichi said, “Just the thought of us getting along makes me feel the need to puke.”

Kokichi laid one hand on his stomach while his other hand covered his mouth.

Shuichi sighed and rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s fake gagging noises.

“Thank you.” Kyoko nodded, “It would be very useful if we had another detective on this case. As well as another vampire.”

“*Another* vampire?” Shuichi said, “Are… you implying that you guys-”

“Have a vampire with us?” Kyoko finished, “Yes. His name is Hajime.”

Kyoko gestured to Hajime before Hajime gave an awkward smile and waved.

“Hello.” he said.

“Oooooooh, I see…” Shuichi nodded, “So am I to assume that he’s the bitten human and you guys are looking for an antidote?”

“You would be correct.” Izuru nodded, “We just want to save my brother. That’s all there is to this.”

“Quick question before we start moving,” said Shuichi, “Do you guys have any suspicions on who may have turned Hajime?”

The group of 5 shrugged.

“We *don’t* have any suspicions yet.” Makoto said, “And according to Kyoko, she didn’t even find any clues that may have pointed towards someone when she was doing her past investigations. The dead victims that she found during those cases were all bitten as well, so the only clue she has, at least now, is that it was a vampire’s fault.”

“Huh…” Shuichi said, “Interesting.”

“Come on, let’s stop idling in the middle of this forest.” Izuru said, while turning away, “Kokichi, right? Show us the way to Novoselic.”

Kokichi sighed.

“Alright, let’s get a move on then…” he said with a shrug.

Kokichi walked past Toko and shoulder checked her, before walking ahead of Izuru to lead the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think that for the time being, this has got to be my favorite chapter to write. I just love Kokichi and Shuichi and had so much fun writing the interactions between those two and Kokichi and Toko. Look forward to more interactions like those in future chapters (I know I will, lol).
> 
> Also, Fun Fact: I named this chapter after the alternate title for DR1. Don’t know if you guys picked up on that but... yeah :)


	13. Why Him?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuru is skeptical and suspects that Kokichi may have a trick up his sleeve.

It’s been about 10 minutes of silently following the two new members of Hajime and Izuru’s party.

Izuru noticed that the entire time he’s been following this seemingly young and mischievous vampire, Kokichi seemed carefree. A little too carefree for that matter. 

Kokichi’s hands were folded and being held behind his head as he strode through the forest beside his boyfriend.

“Hmm…” Izuru said.

Hajime heard him, as he was walking right beside him.

“Huh?” Hajime said, as he turned his head to Izuru, “What is it Izuru?”

“This might seem a bit strange to point out…” Izuru said, “But… I’ve been paying attention to the way Kokichi was walking.”

“The way that he’s walking?” Hajime said, “Why would that matter?”

“It’s more about the body language that’s making me feel a bit skeptical…” Izuru said, “He seems very… relaxed… almost as if he isn’t worried about a thing.”

“Where are you getting at, exactly?”

“Well,” Izuru said, “Don’t you remember how skeptical and hesitant he was when Miss. Kirigiri asked him about the Novoselic kingdom? He made it very obvious that he didn’t trust us one bit and was even concerned that we would do something harmful to him or anyone of his kind.”

Hajime nodded.

“Yes… I do recall that.” he said.

“So then why does he seem so calm all of a sudden?” Izuru said, “One moment he’s suspicious of us, but then shortly afterwards, he seems more than happy to oblige to our wishes. I’m suspecting that he might be leading us into some sort of trap.”

“What like… leading us towards a different location?” Hajime asked.

“Maybe so.” Izuru said, “But I won’t jump to conclusions just yet. For now, I’m just going to keep my eye on him.”

“Are you guys gossiping about me back there?” Kokichi said, without turning to look at the two, “I do happen to have good ears y’know.”

The two brothers both grew silent, not knowing what to say.

Kokichi then let out a disappointed sigh.

“How disappointing…” he said, “Even after I reluctantly decided to help all of you, you still don’t trust me.”

“I- w- well…” Hajime said, “I- I mean… t- to be frank with you… I- I… personally don’t trust you just yet. I- I mean, I still don’t know much about you and you are a vampire right? So it would make sense for us to suspect that you might pull some ungodly act against us at any moment.”

“Not to mention that you do put off a rather mischievous aura.” Izuru added.

“While that does hurt to hear you say that…” Kokichi said, “I suppose I can’t argue with your reasoning.” he then said with a shrug, “Besides, I still don’t trust you guys either, so I guess that makes us even.”

“Wait, so if you still don’t trust us…” Izuru said, “Then why did you say that you were gonna help us regardless?”

Kokichi finally turned his head to look back at Izuru with a smirk.

“Saihara’s responsible for that.” he said, “He is my one and only after all so, obviously I would abide by his wishes. Even if I was a bit skeptical and felt uneasy about the situation. Plus, if anything *did* happen…”

Kokichi suddenly used his super speed to zip straight towards Izuru and lean only a few inches towards his face.

Kokichi was now floating in mid air and had his hands folded behind him.

Izuru leaned backwards, as he stared into Kokichi’s glowing red eyes.

“I wouldn’t hesitate to rip out your flesh, so your blood would come gushing out of you like a volcano while you lie there in despair inducing agony.” he said in a much deeper tone, while baring his fangs.

On the outside, Izuru tried to appear calm while his heart started beating at a rapid pace.

Instantly, Kokichi’s eyes went back to normal before a sweet and innocent smile spread across his face.

“Sorry if I gave you a scare.” he said, in a less threatening tone, “But keep in mind that those words hold true.”

With this, Kokichi turned away again and continued walking beside Shuichi.

“Uh, by the way… there’s something that’s been on my mind about you two.” Hajime said.

“Fire away.” Kokichi said.

“Well…” Hajime said, “I was just wondering… I remember you saying that you didn’t trust humans and then you went on to insult our kind, so-”

“‘Our kind?’” Kokichi said, “What do you mean by that?”

“Huh?” Hajime said.

“Well you said ‘our kind’ as if you were also human…” Kokichi said, “But aren’t you one of us?”

When he said ‘one of us’ Kokichi gestured to himself.

Hajime hesitated to argue when he suddenly stopped himself before saying anything.

For a brief moment, Hajime had forgotten that he was no longer human. 

Hajime’s heart sank, once Kokichi had reminded him of this fact.

“Uh, I-...” Hajime said, glancing down at the leaves he was walking on, “Ye- yes, I… I suppose I am. Th- that… seemed to have slipped from my mind.”

“Well go on then.” Kokichi said, as his hand made a ‘shooing’ motion, “What did you want to ask me?”

“O- oh, right! Uh…” Hajime said, “A- anyway… I- I was just wondering… if you seem to hate humans so much… how come you decided to build a romantic relationship with one?”

“Wow, not afraid to ask such bold questions are you?” Kokichi teased, “Anyways… it’s simply because… I was attracted to him. So much so that even my hatred for humans wasn’t strong enough to prevent me from getting myself involved with him.”

“So, attraction…?” Hajime said, “Is that really it?”

“Well you know, it’s not like there’s anything interesting that I’m leaving out.” Kokichi said with another shrug, “The reason that I fell for Shuichi is pretty much the same reason why anyone falls for anybody. They like their face, their soothing voice, their personality, their soft skin or hair… and so on and so forth.”

Once Kokichi said that, Shuichi glanced down at him, and gave him a look that almost looked as if he was thankful that Kokichi didn’t say anything else about the first time that they fell for each other.

In that moment, Kokichi was smart enough to keep the conversation at that…

...Because there was no way that he would tell anyone about the tragic event that actually brought this couple together.

That was a dark secret kept between Shuichi and Kokichi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers! To be honest, even while I wrote this chapter, I was still stuck on how to continue this story. I definitely do plan on finishing it eventually, so it's not going to be one of those stories that are just dropped in the middle of a cliffhanger and are said to be discontinued. Anyways, if possible, I was just wondering if any of you guys had any questions either about what already happened in the story or questions that the story hasn't answered yet! I think that would be a big help for me to continue writing this story of mine. No pressure tho, if you don't have any questions that's totally fine. :)


End file.
